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Emotion recognition and theory of mind weakness at school age in children born preterm

Stefania M Bova1, Ivana Olivieri2, Arianna Krachmalnicoff3

  • 1Child Neurology Unit, Vittore Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy - stefania.bova@asst-fbf-sacco.it.

Minerva Pediatrics
|April 14, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Preterm children often show social immaturity. Deficits in emotion recognition and Theory of Mind are linked to socioeconomic status, not IQ or executive functions.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Social immaturity and impaired social functioning are significant concerns in prematurity research.
  • Social-cognitive skills and emotional processing are crucial neuropsychological factors in social behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate social skills and executive functions in very low birthweight preterm children.
  • To explore correlations between social-cognitive deficits and various child and environmental factors.

Main Methods:

  • Studied 48 Italian primary school children born preterm (very low birthweight).
  • Assessed social skills, executive functions, emotion recognition, and Theory of Mind using standardized tools.
  • Controlled for normal neurological exams and average IQ.

Main Results:

  • 48% of children had impaired emotion recognition; 8% had impaired Theory of Mind.
  • These social-cognitive deficits were not correlated with executive functions, IQ, gestational age, birthweight, age, or gender.
  • Emotion recognition correlated with socioeconomic status; Theory of Mind correlated with adaptive functioning.

Conclusions:

  • Adaptive and behavioral issues in preterm children may stem from neurocognitive dysfunction, specifically social skill deficits.
  • Socioeconomic status, family, and environmental factors appear to drive these deficits.
  • Potential neural circuitry impairments underlying these social-cognitive deficits are discussed.
Abstract

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