title: Social skills and psychopathic traits in maltreated adolescents.
abstract: Child maltreatment has frequently been associated with impaired social skills and antisocial features, but there are still controversies about the effect of each type of maltreatment on social behaviour. The aim of this study was to compare the social functioning and psychopathic traits of maltreated adolescents (MTA) with a control group (CG) and to investigate what types of maltreatments and social skills were associated with psychopathic traits in both groups. The types and intensity of maltreatment were evaluated through the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) in 107 adolescents, divided into the MTA group (n = 66) and non-maltreated youths (n = 41), our CG. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) and a detailed inventory for evaluation of social skills in adolescents were also applied in all individuals. MTA presented more psychopathic traits than the CG, in all domains measured by PCL: YV, independently of IQ levels and the presence of psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, the groups did not differ significantly from each other on indicators of social skills. Multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional neglect was the only maltreatment subtype significantly associated with psychopathic traits, more specifically with the PCL: YV interpersonal factor (F1), and that some social skills (empathy, self-control and social confidence) were related to specific psychopathic factors. The results highlight that emotional neglect may be more detrimental to social behaviours than physical and sexual abuse, and that neglected children require more specific and careful attention.
authors.affiliation: Equilibrium Program, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Hospital das Clinicas, University of São Paulo, Rua Ovidio Pires de Campos, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil. mariellaos@hotmail.com.|Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. mariellaos@hotmail.com.|Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Applied Neurosciences (NAPNA), University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. mariellaos@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mariella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ometto
authors.affiliation: Equilibrium Program, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Hospital das Clinicas, University of São Paulo, Rua Ovidio Pires de Campos, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Approbato
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Luiza
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Milioni
authors.affiliation: Nursing School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Equilibrium Program, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Hospital das Clinicas, University of São Paulo, Rua Ovidio Pires de Campos, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scivoletto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.|Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Applied Neurosciences (NAPNA), University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Geraldo F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Busatto
authors.affiliation: Bipolar Disorder Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: Equilibrium Program, Department and Institute of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Hospital das Clinicas, University of São Paulo, Rua Ovidio Pires de Campos, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil.|Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroimaging (LIM-21), Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.|Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Applied Neurosciences (NAPNA), University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Group of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (GREA), Institute of Psychiatry (IPq), School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Jannuzzi
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cunha
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D066107:Social Skills; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Antisocial behaviour; Child maltreatment; Neglect; PCL: YV; Psychopathic traits; Social skills