17th International ESCAP Congress 2017
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Contribution title 2749 - Callous-unemotional traits and cognitive emotional coping strategies in adolescents with conduct disorders – a pilot study
Contribution code PS02-34 (P)
Authors
  1. Ilinca Nita Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children Presenter
  2. Imene Mrabet „Iuliu Hateganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Psychiatry and Pediatric Psychiatry
  3. Teodora Panaitescu Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  4. Elena Predescu „Iuliu Hateganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Psychiatry and Pediatric Psychiatry
  5. Roxana Sipos „Iuliu Hateganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Psychiatry and Pediatric Psychiatry
Form of presentation Poster
Topic
  • Adolescent
  • Conduct disorders
  • Personality Disorders
Abstract Numerous studies have linked callous-unemotional personality traits to the development and severity of conduct problems. These findings lead to the inclusion of diagnosis specifiers related to psychopathic traits within conduct disorders (CD) in DSM 5. Previous research also explored the affective components of CD, including emotion recognition and emotional regulation, and their link to callous-unemotional traits.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of callous-unemotional traits and their relation with cognitive-emotional coping strategies in adolescents diagnosed with CD.
Methods: Seventeen patients, aged 12 to 18 years old (15 M, 2 F), with the diagnosis of CD were included. All participants met the diagnosis criteria for CD, according to DSM 5. The semistructured diagnostic interview K-SADS-PL was used to confirm the clinical diagnosis and identify comorbidities. Patients filled out two questionnaires: the Inventory for Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ).
Results: The average scores for all of the 3 subscales of the ICU (Callous:M=10,94, Unemotional:M=7,82, Uncaring:M=10,53), as well as the total score (M=29,29) were considerably higher than those of the general population and consistent with previous studies on adolescents with CD. All the subjects included in the study used all of the coping strategies more than the general population. The only notable exceptions were for females having lower scores in Positive reappraisal and Putting into Perspective strategies. Uncaring personality traits correlated negatively with Acceptance (p<0.01) and Planning (p<0.05), Callousness correlated positively with Other-blame (p<0,01), Unemotional traits were negatively associated with Planning (p<0.05), while total psychopathic-type traits had a positive correlation to Other-blame (p<0.05).
Conclusion: This pilot study confirmed the high rate of callous, unemotional and uncaring personality traits within a clinical population diagnosed with CD and suggested a link between these features and employing negative coping strategies, whilst restricting positive ones. This justifies the need for more thorough assessment regarding emotional regulation, affective symptoms and their link to psychopathic-type traits in adolescents with CD.