Social skills and psychopathic traits in maltreated adolescents

Abstract

Child maltreatment has frequently been associated with impaired social skills and antisocial features, but there are still controversies about the effect of each type of maltreatment on social behaviour. The aim of this study was to compare the social functioning and psychopathic traits of maltreated adolescents (MTA) with a control group (CG) and to investigate what types of maltreatments and social skills were associated with psychopathic traits in both groups. The types and intensity of maltreatment were evaluated through the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) in 107 adolescents, divided into the MTA group (n = 66) and non-maltreated youths (n = 41), our CG. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) and a detailed inventory for evaluation of social skills in adolescents were also applied in all individuals. MTA presented more psychopathic traits than the CG, in all domains measured by PCL: YV, independently of IQ levels and the presence of psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, the groups did not differ significantly from each other on indicators of social skills. Multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional neglect was the only maltreatment subtype significantly associated with psychopathic traits, more specifically with the PCL: YV interpersonal factor (F1), and that some social skills (empathy, self-control and social confidence) were related to specific psychopathic factors. The results highlight that emotional neglect may be more detrimental to social behaviours than physical and sexual abuse, and that neglected children require more specific and careful attention.

Emergence of social behavior deficit, blunted corticolimbic activity and adult depression-like behavior in a rodent model of maternal maltreatment

“… 67 Furthermore, these findings are in accordance with clinical studies indicating that childhood maltreatment is linked to impaired social skills 46 , 47 and is a strong predictor of later-life social behavior problems, including adolescent social withdrawal and adult antisocial behavior. 37 , 38 , 75 …”

“… 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 Adverse early-life experiences involving the caregiver negatively affect the development of the amygdala 23 , 24 a critical brain area for emotion and social behavior 25 , 26 in humans 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 and other mammals. 24 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 Furthermore, maltreatment and abuse lead to social impairments, 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 which typically precede the onset of later-life psychopathology and serve as a predictive marker for later-life symptoms related to psychopathology. 40 , 41 Similar findings have been obtained using naturalistic rodent models of early-life stress that mimic maternal maltreatment.…”

Distinct emotion regulation skills explain psychopathology and problems in social relationships following childhood emotional abuse and neglect

“…Emotional abuse is also implicated in low self-esteem (Mullen, Martin, Anderson, Romans, & Herbison, 1996) and interpersonal difficulties (Dodge Reyome, 2010; Perry, DiLillo, & Peugh, 2007). However, multiple studies indicate that emotional neglect may be more strongly associated with social competence deficits than emotional abuse (Ometto et al, 2016; Paradis & Boucher, 2010).…”

Do pictures really say more than a thousand words? A network approach to early traumatic experience and empathic responding

“…Although it has been hypothesized that childhood maltreatment (CM) may lead to long-term alterations in interpersonal functioning (Briere & Jordan, 2009 ) including empathy, findings are presently mixed. For instance, whereas some studies suggest reduced empathy in maltreated children (Ometto et al, 2016 ), others found no deficits in empathic responding (McCloskey & Lichter, 2003 ). Similarly, whereas in some adult women with CM experience perspective-taking abilities and empathic concern are reduced, but personal distress is increased (Parlar et al, 2014 ), others documented higher empathic concern but lower personal distress (Hudson et al, 2020 ).…”