title: Theory of mind deficit in adult patients with congenital heart disease.
abstract: This article provides the first assessment of theory of mind, that is, the ability to reason about mental states, in adult patients with congenital heart disease. Patients with congenital heart disease and matched healthy controls were administered classical theory of mind tasks and a semi-structured interview which provides a multidimensional evaluation of theory of mind (Theory of Mind Assessment Scale). The patients with congenital heart disease performed worse than the controls on the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale, whereas they did as well as the control group on the classical theory-of-mind tasks. These findings provide the first evidence that adults with congenital heart disease may display specific impairments in theory of mind.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center for Cognitive Science, University and Polytechnic of Turin, Italy SSF Rebaudengo, affiliated to the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome, Italy claudia.chiavarino@ssfrebaudengo.it.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiavarino
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center for Cognitive Science, University and Polytechnic of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bianchino
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, S. Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brach-Prever
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Cardiology Ward, O.I.R.M. - S. Anna Hospital, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riggi
authors.affiliation: Functional Cardiology Unit, Clinica Cellini, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center for Cognitive Science, University and Polytechnic of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Bara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center for Cognitive Science, University and Polytechnic of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Bosco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001524:Behavioral Medicine; D003071:Cognition; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011582:Psychological Theory; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adults; emotions; health psychology; psychological distress; social cognitions