Emotion Recognition and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Individuals at Clinical High Risk of Psychosis

Stefania Tognin; Ana Catalan; Gemma Modinos; Matthew J Kempton; Amaia Bilbao; Barnaby Nelson; Christos Pantelis; Anita Riecher-Rössler; Rodrigo Bressan; Neus Barrantes-Vidal; Marie-Odile Krebs; Merete Nordentoft; Stephan Ruhrmann; Gabriele Sachs; Bart P F Rutten; Jim van Os; Lieuwe de Haan; Mark van der Gaag; EU-GEI High Risk Study; Philip McGuire; Lucia R Valmaggia

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbz128

Emotion Recognition and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Individuals at Clinical High Risk of Psychosis

Schizophr Bull. 2020 Jul 8;46(4):823-833. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbz128.

Authors

Stefania Tognin^{1

2}, Ana Catalan^{1

3

4}, Gemma Modinos^{1

5}, Matthew J Kempton^{1

6}, Amaia Bilbao⁷, Barnaby Nelson^{8

9}, Christos Pantelis^{10

11}, Anita Riecher-Rössler¹², Rodrigo Bressan¹³, Neus Barrantes-Vidal¹⁴, Marie-Odile Krebs^{15

16}, Merete Nordentoft¹⁷, Stephan Ruhrmann¹⁸, Gabriele Sachs¹⁹, Bart P F Rutten²⁰, Jim van Os^{1

20

21}, Lieuwe de Haan²², Mark van der Gaag^{23

24}; EU-GEI High Risk Study; Philip McGuire^{1

2

6}, Lucia R Valmaggia²⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
² Outreach and Support in South London (OASIS) Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Basurto University Hospital, Bilbao, Spain.
⁴ Department of Neuroscience, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain.
⁵ Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
⁶ National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), London, UK.
⁷ Research Unit, Basurto University Hospital, Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), Bilbao, Spain.
⁸ Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁹ Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁰ Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Centre Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹¹ Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹² University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
¹³ LiNC - Lab Integrative Neuroscience, Depto Psiquiatria, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - UNIFESP, São Paulo, Brazil.
¹⁴ Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Fundació Sanitària Sant Pere Claver, Spanish Mental Health Research Network (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
¹⁵ INSERM, IPNP UMR S1266, Laboratoire de Physiopathologie des Maladies Psychiatriques, Université Paris Descartes, Université de Paris, CNRS, GDR3557-Institut de Psychiatrie, Paris, France.
¹⁶ Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, GHU Paris - Sainte-Anne, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, Paris, France.
¹⁷ Mental Health Center Copenhagen and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, CINS, Mental Health Center Glostrup, Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
¹⁹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
²⁰ Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
²¹ Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
²² Department of Early Psychosis, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²³ Department of Clinical Psychology and Amsterdam Public Mental Health research institute, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁴ Department of Psychosis Research, Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
²⁵ Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between facial affect recognition (FAR) and type of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in a sample of clinical high risk (CHR) individuals and a matched sample of healthy controls (HCs).

Methods: In total, 309 CHR individuals and 51 HC were recruited as part of an European Union-funded multicenter study (EU-GEI) and included in this work. During a 2-year follow-up period, 65 CHR participants made a transition to psychosis (CHR-T) and 279 did not (CHR-NT). FAR ability was measured using a computerized version of the Degraded Facial Affect Recognition (DFAR) task. ACEs were measured using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and the Bullying Questionnaire. Generalized regression models were used to investigate the relationship between ACE and FAR. Logistic regressions were used to investigate the relationship between FAR and psychotic transition.

Results: In CHR individuals, having experienced emotional abuse was associated with decreased total and neutral DFAR scores. CHR individuals who had experienced bullying performed better in the total DFAR and in the frightened condition. In HC and CHR, having experienced the death of a parent during childhood was associated with lower DFAR total score and lower neutral DFAR score, respectively. Analyses revealed a modest increase of transition risk with increasing mistakes from happy to angry faces.

Conclusions: Adverse experiences in childhood seem to have a significant impact on emotional processing in adult life. This information could be helpful in a therapeutic setting where both difficulties in social interactions and adverse experiences are often addressed.

Keywords: childhood adversities; emotional processing; facial affect; psychosis risk; recognition; vulnerability to psychosis.

Publication types

Multicenter Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Adverse Childhood Experiences* / statistics & numerical data
Bullying* / statistics & numerical data
Child Abuse* / statistics & numerical data
Disease Susceptibility / epidemiology
Facial Recognition* / physiology
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Psychotic Disorders / epidemiology*
Psychotic Disorders / physiopathology*
Risk
Social Perception*
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding