Does childhood trauma predict social cognition in male sexual offenders?

Abstract

Background and Aims

This cross-sectional study explored childhood trauma as a predictor of two components of social cognition: emotion recognition and mentalizing.

Materials and Methods

Forty-three men serving a UK custodial sentence for a sexual offence participated. Participants completed three social cognition measures: Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, the Geneva Emotional Recognition Test and Reflective Functioning Questionnaire. A self-report childhood trauma measure—the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire—was completed.

Results

Multiple regression analyses showed that childhood trauma was a significant predictor of both hyper- and hypo-mentalizing, indicating both an overinterpretation of others’ mental states and limited perspective-taking abilities, respectively. For hyper-mentalizing, age was a significant covariate. Childhood trauma did not significantly predict emotion recognition.

Discussion

Findings are broadly consistent with existing literature, indicating childhood trauma may be associated with poorer mentalizing in this population.

Conclusion

Results suggest that incorporating mentalizing skills into rehabilitative therapies may be beneficial.