Social cognition is a multidimensional construct encompassing the cognitive and emotional processes involved in the understanding and processing of social information. Its main domains include theory of mind, emotion recognition, empathy, attributional styles, and social perception. A growing body of evidence suggests that impairments in these abilities are common in neurodevelopmental disorders and contribute to the social and adaptive difficulties frequently observed in affected individuals. The present study aimed to investigate the different components of social cognition in a sample of adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders, comparing their performance with that of typically developing peers and examining the relationships between social cognition and emotional, behavioral, and social functioning. Furthermore, the study explored the potential contribution of social-cognitive dimensions to the detection of areas of vulnerability that may benefit from targeted clinical interventions. The study included 92 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years, comprising 49 participants with a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder and 43 typically developing controls. Participants in the clinical group were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit of Padua. Individuals with moderate to severe intellectual disability, language difficulties interfering with test comprehension, or comorbid neurological disorders, particularly epilepsy, were excluded. Participants underwent a comprehensive assessment battery including measures of social cognition, emotion recognition, alexithymia, psychopathological symptoms, and social functioning. Adolescents completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Moral/Conventional Distinction Task, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT), and the Attributional Style Questionnaire for Adolescents (ASQ-A). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2). The clinical group showed significant impairments across several components of social cognition, particularly in theory of mind and the understanding of social norms. Among the assessment tools employed, the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) demonstrated the greatest ability to discriminate between adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders and typically developing controls. Significant associations were also found between socio-cognitive difficulties, alexithymia, and emotional-behavioral problems. However, correlations between measures of social cognition and self-report instruments were weaker in the clinical group than in the control group, suggesting reduced awareness of socio-emotional difficulties. Comparisons among different neurodevelopmental conditions revealed differences mainly related to the characteristic clinical features of each disorder, whereas the principal measures of social cognition did not show significant differences among diagnostic subgroups. The findings support the hypothesis that social-cognitive difficulties represent transdiagnostic dimensions across neurodevelopmental disorders rather than disorder-specific features. These results highlight the importance of a multidimensional assessment of social cognition and suggest the potential value of ecologically oriented instruments such as the ESCoT for the early identification of socio-cognitive difficulties and the planning of individualized rehabilitation interventions.
La cognizione sociale è una capacità multidimensionale che comprende l’insieme dei processi cognitivi ed emotivi coinvolti nella comprensione e nell’elaborazione delle informazioni sociali. Tra i domini che la compongono rientrano la teoria della mente, il riconoscimento delle emozioni, l’empatia, gli stili attribuzionali e la percezione sociale. Numerose evidenze suggeriscono come alterazioni di tali competenze rappresentino una caratteristica frequente nei disturbi del neurosviluppo, contribuendo alle difficoltà sociali e adattative osservati in questi soggetti. Il presente studio si è proposto di approfondire le diverse componenti della cognizione sociale in un campione di adolescenti con disturbi del neurosviluppo, confrontandole con quelle di coetanei a sviluppo tipico e analizzandone le relazioni con il funzionamento emotivo, comportamentale e socio-relazionale. Inoltre, è sato esplorato il potenziale contributo di tali dimensioni nell’orientamento diagnostico verso i disturbi del neurosviluppo e nell’individuazione di aree di vulnerabilità suscettibili di interventi clinici mirati. Sono stati inclusi 92 adolescenti di età compresa tra gli 11 e 18 anni, di cui 49 appartenenti al gruppo clinico con diagnosi di disturbo del neurosviluppo e 43 al gruppo di controllo. I soggetti del gruppo clinico sono stati arruolati tra i pazienti afferenti alla Clinica di Neuropsichiatria Infanzia e Adolescenza di Padova. Sono stati esclusi i soggetti con disabilità intellettiva di grado moderato o grave, con difficoltà linguistiche tali da compromettere la comprensione delle prove e con patologie neurologiche in comorbidità, in particolare epilessia. La valutazione è stata effettuata mediante una batteria di strumenti comprendente misure di cognizione sociale, riconoscimento emotivo, alessitimia, sintomatologia psicopatologica e funzionamento sociale. In particolare, è stata prevista la somministrazione agli adolescenti della Youth Self Report, della Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, del test di distinzione morale/convenzionale, del Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, dell’Edinburgh Social Cognition Test e dell’Attributional Style Questionnaire for Adolescents; ai genitori sono stati somministrati la Child Behavior Checklist e la Social Responsiveness Scale-2. I risultati hanno evidenziato nel gruppo clinico una compromissione significativa di diverse componenti della cognizione sociale, con particolare coinvolgimento della teoria della mente e della comprensione delle norme sociali. Tra gli strumenti, l’Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) ha mostrato la maggiore capacità di discriminare tra gruppo clinico e gruppo a sviluppo tipico. Sono, inoltre, emerse associazioni significative tra difficoltà socio-attentive, alessitimia e problematiche emotivo-comportamentali. Tuttavia, nel gruppo clinico le correlazioni tra le misure di cognizione sociale e gli strumenti basati sull’autopercezione sono risultate più limitate rispetto ai controlli, suggerendo una possibile ridotta autoconsapevolezza delle difficoltà socio-emotive. I confronti tra differenti condizioni del neurosviluppo hanno evidenziato differenze prevalentemente riconducibili alle caratteristiche cliniche tipiche dei singoli disturbi, mentre le principali misure di cognizione sociale non hanno mostrato differenze significative tra i sottogruppi diagnostici. I risultati supportano l’ipotesi che le difficoltà della cognizione sociale rappresentino dimensioni trasversali ai disturbi del neurosviluppo piuttosto che caratteristiche specifiche delle singole diagnosi. Tali evidenze sottolineano l’importanza di una valutazione multidimensionale della cognizione sociale e suggeriscono il potenziale interesse di strumenti ecologici come l’ESCoT nell’identificazione precoce delle difficoltà socio-cognitive e nella pianificazione di interventi riabilitativi personalizzati.
Il ruolo della cognizione sociale in adolescenti con disturbi del neurosviluppo
BENNARDO, FEDERICA
2025/2026
Abstract
Social cognition is a multidimensional construct encompassing the cognitive and emotional processes involved in the understanding and processing of social information. Its main domains include theory of mind, emotion recognition, empathy, attributional styles, and social perception. A growing body of evidence suggests that impairments in these abilities are common in neurodevelopmental disorders and contribute to the social and adaptive difficulties frequently observed in affected individuals. The present study aimed to investigate the different components of social cognition in a sample of adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders, comparing their performance with that of typically developing peers and examining the relationships between social cognition and emotional, behavioral, and social functioning. Furthermore, the study explored the potential contribution of social-cognitive dimensions to the detection of areas of vulnerability that may benefit from targeted clinical interventions. The study included 92 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years, comprising 49 participants with a diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder and 43 typically developing controls. Participants in the clinical group were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit of Padua. Individuals with moderate to severe intellectual disability, language difficulties interfering with test comprehension, or comorbid neurological disorders, particularly epilepsy, were excluded. Participants underwent a comprehensive assessment battery including measures of social cognition, emotion recognition, alexithymia, psychopathological symptoms, and social functioning. Adolescents completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Moral/Conventional Distinction Task, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT), and the Attributional Style Questionnaire for Adolescents (ASQ-A). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2). The clinical group showed significant impairments across several components of social cognition, particularly in theory of mind and the understanding of social norms. Among the assessment tools employed, the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) demonstrated the greatest ability to discriminate between adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders and typically developing controls. Significant associations were also found between socio-cognitive difficulties, alexithymia, and emotional-behavioral problems. However, correlations between measures of social cognition and self-report instruments were weaker in the clinical group than in the control group, suggesting reduced awareness of socio-emotional difficulties. Comparisons among different neurodevelopmental conditions revealed differences mainly related to the characteristic clinical features of each disorder, whereas the principal measures of social cognition did not show significant differences among diagnostic subgroups. The findings support the hypothesis that social-cognitive difficulties represent transdiagnostic dimensions across neurodevelopmental disorders rather than disorder-specific features. These results highlight the importance of a multidimensional assessment of social cognition and suggest the potential value of ecologically oriented instruments such as the ESCoT for the early identification of socio-cognitive difficulties and the planning of individualized rehabilitation interventions.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/108904