Emotional Awareness and Cognitive Performance in Borderline Intellectual Functioning Young Adolescents

Area of Science:

• Neuropsychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Borderline intellectual functioning (BIF), while not a disorder per DSM-5/ICD-10, is associated with adaptive functioning deficits and increased mental illness vulnerability.
• Adolescence is a critical period for emotional processing, with emotional awareness impacting decision-making, relationships, and social cue interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between borderline intellectual functioning and emotional awareness in young adolescents.
• To compare the emotional and cognitive functioning of adolescents with BIF to a healthy control group.

Main Methods:

• Neuropsychological assessment of emotional and cognitive domains in a group of young adolescents with BIF and a healthy control (HC) group.
• Analysis of correlations between general intellectual abilities and emotional awareness across the entire sample.

Main Results:

• A significant negative correlation was observed between general intellectual abilities and emotional awareness in the overall sample.
• Adolescents with BIF exhibited higher levels of alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing emotions) and poorer performance on higher cognitive tasks compared to the HC group.

Conclusions:

• Borderline intellectual functioning negatively influences mentalization processes, including the ability to discriminate and monitor emotions.
• Cognitive deficits associated with BIF extend to higher-order cognitive functions, impacting overall mentalization capabilities.