Characterization of Social Cognition Profiles in Children and Adolescents With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: a Clinical Study Using a Multidimensional Battery

Summary

In France, more than one in ten school-aged children suffers from a mental health disorder, and half of these disorders appear before the age of 14. Yet, only half of affected children receive appropriate support. At the cognitive level, it is now widely accepted by the scientific community that strong socio-cognitive skills protect against the emergence of certain disorders. Social cognition skills, crucial for development and social integration, are often underestimated in clinical neuropsychology, particularly due to the lack of validated assessment tools for children.

The challenges related to the clinical assessment of social cognition in children and adolescents are therefore significant, especially since specific deficits are likely to be associated with numerous developmental pathologies and psychiatric disorders (neurodevelopmental disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders). However, these disorders are insufficiently assessed. A more precise characterization would allow for the identification of therapeutic targets specific to each neurodevelopmental disorder.

Therefore, this research aims to address this lack of tools by using a multidimensional assessment battery of social cognition in children and adolescents aged 8 to 16, evaluating four fundamental domains of social cognition: emotion processing, social perception, theory of mind, and attributional style. This multidimensional assessment battery of social cognition is developed by the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital.

Conditions

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Atypical Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Interventions

OTHER

Test

Social cognition battery developed by the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital: 4 tasks allow exploration of the components of social cognition: 1. Dynamic emotion recognition task 2. Contextual emotion recognition task 3. Combined theory of mind and social perception task 4. Attributional style

OTHER

Questionnaires

Standard supplementary tasks assessing social cognition and executive functions, as well as parent questionnaires, will be administered : * Conners 3 * Child Behavior Checklist * SOCODEV : Social Skills Assessment Questionnaire * Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function * Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale * Autism Diagnostic Interviex-Revised * Intention Attribution Test for Children

Sponsors & Collaborators

• URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin

  collaborator OTHER

• Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Dorothée Leunen · Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

• Lisa Ouss, M.D. · Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

8 Years

Max Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-04-08

Primary Completion

2029-04-30

Completion

2029-04-30

Countries

• France

Study Locations