Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits.
<h4>Background</h4>Reduced processing and experience of aversive emotional cues is a common component of theories on the development and persistence of aggression and antisocial behaviour. Yet physical pain, arguably the most basic aversive cue, has attracted comparatively little attenti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2015-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134417 |
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| author | Clare Northover Anita Thapar Kate Langley Stephanie H M van Goozen |
| author_facet | Clare Northover Anita Thapar Kate Langley Stephanie H M van Goozen |
| author_sort | Clare Northover |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>Reduced processing and experience of aversive emotional cues is a common component of theories on the development and persistence of aggression and antisocial behaviour. Yet physical pain, arguably the most basic aversive cue, has attracted comparatively little attention.<h4>Methods</h4>This study measured pain sensitivity and physiological response to painful stimuli (skin conductance level, SCL) in adolescent boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; n = 183), who are at high risk for antisocial behaviour. We compared boys with ADHD with and without a comorbid diagnosis of Conduct Disorder (CD) on pain sensitivity, and examined patterns of association between pain measures, on the one hand, and problem severity and callous and unemotional (CU) traits, on the other.<h4>Results</h4>Boys with comorbid CD exhibited a higher pain threshold and tolerance than boys with ADHD alone, but the groups did not differ in physiology at the time the pain threshold and tolerance were reported. Regression analyses showed that ADHD problem severity positively predicted pain sensitivity, whereas levels of CU traits negatively predicted pain sensitivity.<h4>Conclusions</h4>These findings on physical pain processing extend evidence of impairments in aversive cue processing among those at risk of antisocial behaviour. The study highlights the importance of considering comorbidity and heterogeneity of disorders when developing interventions. The current findings could be used to identify subgroups within those with ADHD who might be less responsive to interventions that use corrective feedback to obtain behaviour change. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c0b57e162d804de0b86e6a11a810e30f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c0b57e162d804de0b86e6a11a810e30f2025-08-20T02:22:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01107e013441710.1371/journal.pone.0134417Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits.Clare NorthoverAnita ThaparKate LangleyStephanie H M van Goozen<h4>Background</h4>Reduced processing and experience of aversive emotional cues is a common component of theories on the development and persistence of aggression and antisocial behaviour. Yet physical pain, arguably the most basic aversive cue, has attracted comparatively little attention.<h4>Methods</h4>This study measured pain sensitivity and physiological response to painful stimuli (skin conductance level, SCL) in adolescent boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; n = 183), who are at high risk for antisocial behaviour. We compared boys with ADHD with and without a comorbid diagnosis of Conduct Disorder (CD) on pain sensitivity, and examined patterns of association between pain measures, on the one hand, and problem severity and callous and unemotional (CU) traits, on the other.<h4>Results</h4>Boys with comorbid CD exhibited a higher pain threshold and tolerance than boys with ADHD alone, but the groups did not differ in physiology at the time the pain threshold and tolerance were reported. Regression analyses showed that ADHD problem severity positively predicted pain sensitivity, whereas levels of CU traits negatively predicted pain sensitivity.<h4>Conclusions</h4>These findings on physical pain processing extend evidence of impairments in aversive cue processing among those at risk of antisocial behaviour. The study highlights the importance of considering comorbidity and heterogeneity of disorders when developing interventions. The current findings could be used to identify subgroups within those with ADHD who might be less responsive to interventions that use corrective feedback to obtain behaviour change.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134417 |
| spellingShingle | Clare Northover Anita Thapar Kate Langley Stephanie H M van Goozen Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits. PLoS ONE |
| title | Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits. |
| title_full | Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits. |
| title_fullStr | Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits. |
| title_short | Pain Sensitivity in Adolescent Males with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Testing for Associations with Conduct Disorder and Callous and Unemotional Traits. |
| title_sort | pain sensitivity in adolescent males with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder testing for associations with conduct disorder and callous and unemotional traits |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134417 |
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