Deficits in facial expression recognition in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder
Deficits in facial expression recognition in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder
Background: We examined whether conduct disorder (CD) is associated with deficits in facial expression recognition and, if so, whether these deficits are specific to the early-onset form of CD, which emerges in childhood. The findings could potentially inform the developmental taxonomic theory of antisocial behaviour, which suggests that early-onset and adolescence-limited forms of CD are subject to different aetiological processes.
Method: Male adolescents with either early-onset CD (n = 42) or adolescence-onset CD (n = 39), and controls with no history of serious antisocial behaviour and no current psychiatric disorder (n = 40) completed tests of facial expression and facial identity recognition. Dependent measures were: (a) correct recognition of facial expressions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise, and (b) the number of correct matches of unfamiliar faces.
Results: Relative to controls, recognition of anger, disgust, and happiness in facial expressions was disproportionately impaired in participants with early-onset CD, whereas recognition of fear was impaired in participants with adolescence-onset CD. Participants with CD who were high in psychopathic traits showed impaired fear, sadness, and surprise recognition relative to those low in psychopathic traits. There were no group differences in facial identity recognition.
Conclusions: Both CD subtypes were associated with impairments in facial recognition, although these were more marked in the early-onset subgroup. Variation in psychopathic traits appeared to exert an additional influence on the recognition of fear, sadness and surprise. Implications of these data for the developmental taxonomic theory of antisocial behaviour are discussed.
627-636
Fairchild, Graeme
f99bc911-978e-48c2-9754-c6460666a95f
Van Goozen, Stephanie H.M.
1044d433-5451-4520-b860-9fe1b7e0fe0f
Calder, Andrew J.
7e520a50-2877-4625-b7e5-c2486b232bc2
Stollery, Sarah J.
6e3ade33-c0cf-47d0-aaeb-bba8c419d636
Goodyer, Ian M.
b61b8ae9-a305-462b-9fe5-66f8d3fb6312
21 April 2009
Fairchild, Graeme
f99bc911-978e-48c2-9754-c6460666a95f
Van Goozen, Stephanie H.M.
1044d433-5451-4520-b860-9fe1b7e0fe0f
Calder, Andrew J.
7e520a50-2877-4625-b7e5-c2486b232bc2
Stollery, Sarah J.
6e3ade33-c0cf-47d0-aaeb-bba8c419d636
Goodyer, Ian M.
b61b8ae9-a305-462b-9fe5-66f8d3fb6312
Fairchild, Graeme, Van Goozen, Stephanie H.M., Calder, Andrew J., Stollery, Sarah J. and Goodyer, Ian M.
(2009)
Deficits in facial expression recognition in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50 (5), .
(doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02020.x).
Abstract
Background: We examined whether conduct disorder (CD) is associated with deficits in facial expression recognition and, if so, whether these deficits are specific to the early-onset form of CD, which emerges in childhood. The findings could potentially inform the developmental taxonomic theory of antisocial behaviour, which suggests that early-onset and adolescence-limited forms of CD are subject to different aetiological processes.
Method: Male adolescents with either early-onset CD (n = 42) or adolescence-onset CD (n = 39), and controls with no history of serious antisocial behaviour and no current psychiatric disorder (n = 40) completed tests of facial expression and facial identity recognition. Dependent measures were: (a) correct recognition of facial expressions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise, and (b) the number of correct matches of unfamiliar faces.
Results: Relative to controls, recognition of anger, disgust, and happiness in facial expressions was disproportionately impaired in participants with early-onset CD, whereas recognition of fear was impaired in participants with adolescence-onset CD. Participants with CD who were high in psychopathic traits showed impaired fear, sadness, and surprise recognition relative to those low in psychopathic traits. There were no group differences in facial identity recognition.
Conclusions: Both CD subtypes were associated with impairments in facial recognition, although these were more marked in the early-onset subgroup. Variation in psychopathic traits appeared to exert an additional influence on the recognition of fear, sadness and surprise. Implications of these data for the developmental taxonomic theory of antisocial behaviour are discussed.
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Published date: 21 April 2009
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Local EPrints ID: 156013
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/156013
ISSN: 0021-9630
PURE UUID: af80a955-4b3a-484c-b19b-0d6c39573753
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Date deposited: 01 Jun 2010 10:49
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:41
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Author:
Graeme Fairchild
Author:
Stephanie H.M. Van Goozen
Author:
Andrew J. Calder
Author:
Sarah J. Stollery
Author:
Ian M. Goodyer
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