Riccardo Williams

Emotional reactivity in referred youth with disruptive behavior disorders: The role of the callous-unemotional traits

Deficits in emotional reactivity are frequently reported in Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs). A deficit in prosocial emotions, namely the callous unemotional traits (CU), may be a mediator of emotional reactivity. Our aim is to investigate subjective emotional reactivity towards visual stimuli with different affective valence in youths with DBDs and healthy controls. The clinical sample included 62 youths with DBDs (51 males, 8 to 16 years, mean 11.3±2.1 years), the control group 53 subjects (36 males, 8 to 16 years, mean 10.8±1.5 years). The groups were compared using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU), and the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), which explores the affective (pleasant/unpleasant emotional reaction) and arousal (low/high intensity of emotion) dimensions. The DBD group presented higher scores in externalizing and internalizing CBCL scores, and in ICU callous and indifferent subscales. At the IAPS, DBD patients differed from controls in the affective valence of the images, rating less unpleasant neutral and negative images. The CU traits were the only predictor of emotional reactivity in the DBD sample. A less aversive way to interpret neutral and negative stimuli may explain why DBD patients are less responsive to negative reinforcements.

The role of attachment insecurity in the emergence of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with migraine: an empirical study

BackgroundIt is widely recognised that there are associations between headache, psychiatric comorbidity and attachment insecurity in both adults and children. The aims of this study were: 1) to compare perceived attachment security and anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine without aura and a healthy control group; 2) to test whether the child’s perceived security of attachment to the mother and the father mediated the association between migraine and anxiety.MethodsOne hundred children and adolescents with Migraine without Aura were compared with a control group of 100 children without headache. The Security Scale (measures perceived security of attachments) and the Self-Administered Psychiatric Scales for Children and Adolescents, a measure of anxiety symptoms, were administered to all participants.ResultsThe clinical group had lower attachment security than the control group and higher scores on all anxiety scales. Anxiety was negatively correlated with attachment. Children’s attachment to their mother mediated the increase in global anxiety in the clinical group. Insecure paternal attachment was associated with greater insecurity in maternal attachment, suggesting that there is a complex pathway from migraine to anxiety symptoms mediated by perceived insecurity of paternal attachment and hence also by perceived insecurity of maternal attachment.ConclusionThese results suggest that insecure parental attachment may exacerbate anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine and point to the importance of multimodal interventions, perhaps taking account of family relationships, for children and adolescents with migraine.

Valutazione delle relazioni oggettuali e sviluppo cognitivo in adolescenza: una prospettiva socio-cognitiva

Obiettivo della ricerca e stato valutare se, da un punto di vista evolutivo, l’organizzazione delle relazioni oggettuali e influenzata da aspetti di maturazione cognitiva nel passaggio dalla preadolescenza all’adolescenza. Nello specifico, si e voluto verificare se, coerentemente con il modello di valutazione proposto da Westen, la dimensione socio-cognitiva delle relazioni oggettuali evolve nel tempo, e se tale rimodellamento e influenzato da alcuni processi cognitivi, qui considerati in termini di funzioni esecutive, che tipicamente migliorano nella fase di sviluppo individuata. Metodo: Il campione, non clinico, e composto da 50 soggetti di eta compresa tra 11 e 15 anni. Gli strumenti utilizzati sono la SCORS, il Color Word Stroop Test, e la sottoscala Vocabolario della WISC III-R. Risultati: I punteggi a tre delle quattro sottoscale della SCORS (CR, CCS, CIE) aumentano significativamente nel passaggio da 11-12 anni a 14-15 anni; le differenze nei punteggi risultano anche, almeno in parte, mediate da un miglioramento di un aspetto di funzionamento esecutivo misurato dallo Stroop Test. Conclusioni: Questi dati potrebbero implicare che una valutazione clinica della dimensione affettiva del funzionamento relazionale adolescenziale risulterebbe piu approfondita se effettuata alla luce di fattori, non solo esperienziali ma anche cognitivi, propri dello sviluppo individuale.