title: Selective cognitive empathy deficit in adolescents with restrictive anorexia nervosa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A growing, but conflicting body of literature suggests altered empathic abilities in subjects with anorexia nervosa-restricting type (AN-R). This study aims to characterize the cognitive and affective empathic profiles of adolescents with purely AN-R.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of a standardized clinical and research protocol, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a valid and reliable self-reported instrument to measure empathy, was administered to 32 female adolescents with AN-R and in 41 healthy controls (HC) comparisons, matched for age and gender. Correlational analyses were performed to evaluate the links between empathy scores and psychopathological measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients scored significantly lower than HC on cognitive empathy (CE), while they did not differ from controls on affective empathy (AE). The deficit in CE was not related to either disease severity nor was it related to associated psychopathology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results, albeit preliminary, suggest that a dysfunctional pattern of CE capacity may be a stable trait of AN-R that should be taken into account not only for the clinical management, but also in preventive and therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calderoni
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fantozzi
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maestro
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunori
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Narzisi
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balboni
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muratori
keywords: Interpersonal Reactivity Index; affective empathy; anorexia nervosa-restricting type; cognitive empathy; female adolescents