title: Social cognition disorders in military police officers affected by posttraumatic stress disorder after the attack of An-Nasiriyah in Iraq 2006.
abstract: Emotional numbness in individuals affected by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be a result of the depletion of emotional capacities. The ability to process emotions in a social context is a part of social cognition, which is still an under-explored topic in PTSD. The present study investigated deficits in social cognition, such as emotion recognition and theory of mind, and their relationship to emotional numbing in 35 military police officers who were in Iraq in April 2006 during a terrorist attack in An-Nasiriyah. Our results indicated that individuals suffering from PTSD showed deficits in social cognition when compared with healthy subjects. These disorders seemed to involve emotional numbing rather than clinical symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Future research directions are suggested to improve the measurement of emotional functioning in PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Science of Health, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy. monica.mazza@cc.univaq.it
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazza
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giusti
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albanese
authors.forename: Melania
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mariano
authors.forename: Maria Chiara
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pino
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roncone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016495:Police; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D056345:Theory of Mind