Development of Moral Judgments in Impersonal and Personal Dilemmas in Autistic Spectrum Disorders from Childhood to Late Adolescence.

A potential underlying mechanism associated with the difficulties in social interactions in Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) concerns the abnormal development of moral reasoning. The present study examined utilitarian and deontological judgments in impersonal and personal moral dilemmas, comparing 66 individuals with ASD and 61 typically developing (TD) individuals between 6 and 18 years. Utilitarian judgments decreased with age. This decline was much more gradual for personal dilemmas in the ASD than in the TD group. ASD individuals rated utilitarian judgments as more appropriate but felt less calm, consistent with the Empathy Imbalance hypothesis. Utilitarian judgments were associated with social interaction difficulties in ASD. These findings identify possible social therapeutic targets for more efficient coping strategies in individuals with ASD.

The role of attentional biases to appetitive stimuli in childhood overweight.

Overweight during childhood constitutes a high-risk factor for adult obesity. An abnormal attention to food stimuli (i.e., a bias) has been suggested as an underlying mechanism to the onset and/or maintenance of obesity. Previous literature supports the existence of a biased attention toward food stimuli in adults with obesity. However, it is unknown whether this attentional bias occurs in high-risk children for adult obesity. We aimed to examine attentional biases to food at different stages of attention processing in overweight children. A dot-probe task was applied to 25 children with overweight and 25 healthy-weight children (8-12 years old). Attentional preference to or avoidance of pleasant food stimuli, which were displayed simultaneously with pleasant non-food stimuli (matched in valence and arousal), was examined at 100-ms (initial visual orienting), 500-ms (attention engagement), and 1500-ms (maintained attention) presentation rates. Both children with overweight and healthy-weight children showed an attentional bias toward food images at a 100-ms presentation rate. However, unlike healthy-weight children, those with overweight showed an attentional preference toward food images at 500- and 1500-ms presentation rates. A biased initial orienting to food cues can be found regardless of weight. However, a biased attention engagement and a biased maintained attention toward food cues are characteristics of children with overweight. Therefore, as in adults, children at risk of adult obesity have an abnormal attentional processing of food stimuli.

Changes in genetic and environmental influences on disordered eating between pre-menarche and postmenarche girls. A twin study.

significantly increase during puberty. The goal of this research is to evaluate changes during puberty which could have genetic and environmental influences on a broad spectrum of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Methods. Participants were 158 pairs of adolescent female twins, categorized in two groups according to menarche stage (pre or post). ED measures: Disordered eating attitudes and behaviors were assessed by means of the Children’s Eating Attitudes Test and four sub-scales of the Eating Disorders Inventory: Drive for thinness, Body dissatisfaction, Ineffectiveness, and Perfectionism. Intra-class correlations in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins were calculated separately in premenarche and premenarche group for each ED subscale Results. 48 premenarche twins (30 MZ twins and 18 DZ twins) and 110 premenarche twins (66 MZ and 44 DZ twins) were included. The intra-class correlations suggested no genetic influence on the total ChEAT score of participants at the premenarche stage. For the premenarche participants, however, sources of variance suggested a very high heritability. Regarding the EDI sub-scales, only the trait “Ineffectiveness” exhibited a moderate heritability among premenarche subjects, while all the four eating sub-scales showed moderate heritability estimates in the premenarche stage group. Conclusions. Our findings reveal that there are significant differences in genetic and environmental effects on eating attitudes and behaviors depending on being in a premenarche or premenarche stage. Therefore, clinicians should pay attention to female adolescents at high risk of developing ED, especially during the critical period of menarche.

Cambios en la influencia genética y ambiental en los trastornos de la alimentación entre niñas en estadio pre y post menarquia. Un estudio gemelar / Changes in genetic and environmental influences on disordered eating between pre-menarche and post-menarche girls. A twin study

Introducción. La incidencia y heredabilidad de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) se incrementa durante la pubertad. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar los cambios en las influencias genéticas ambientales sobre un amplio espectro de actitudes y conductas alimentarias anómalas durante la pubertad. Metodología. participaron 160 parejas de gemelas adolescentes, que se categorizaron en dos grupos en función del estado de menarquia (pre y pos). Medidas de TCA: Las actitudes y conductas alimentarias anómalas fueron evaluadas mediante el ChEAT (Children's Eating Attitudes Test) y cuatro subescalas del EDI (Eating Disorders Inventory); Impulso a la delgadez, Insatisfacción corporal, Ineficacia y Perfeccionismo. Las correlaciones intrapareja en gemelas MZ (monozigotas) y DZ (dizigotas) se calcularon por separado en los grupos de premenarquia y posmenarquia para cada medida de TCA. Resultados. Cuarenta y ocho gemelas premenarquia (30 MZ y 18 DZ) y 110 gemelas posmenarquia (66 MZ y 44 DZ). Las correlaciones sugirieron que no hay una influencia genética en la puntuación total del ChEAT en las niñas en estado premenarquia, mientras que en las niñas posmenarquia el porcentaje de la varianza para las influencias genéticas es elevado. En relación a las subescalas del EDI, únicamente la variable "Ineficacia" mostró una moderada heredabilidad en las niñas en estadio premenarquia, mientras que las cuatro actitudes alimentarias mostraron una moderada heredabilidad en el grupo de niñas posmenarquia. Conclusiones. Nuestro abordaje revela cambios significativos relacionados con la menarquia en las contribuciones de las influencias genéticas y ambientales sobre las conductas y actitudes alimentarias anómalas. Los clínicos deberían centrar su atención en las niñas adolescentes con alto riesgo de desarrollar TCA especialmente durante el periodo crítico de la menarquia

Background. Eating disorders' incidence and heritability significantly increase during puberty. The goal of this research is to evaluate changes during puberty which could have genetic and environmental influences on a broad spectrum of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Methods. Participants were 158 pairs of adolescent female twins, categorized in two groups according to menarche stage (pre or post). ED measures: Disordered eating attitudes and behaviors were assessed by means of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test and four sub-scales of the Eating Disorders Inventory: Drive for thinness, Body dissatisfaction, Ineffectiveness, and Perfectionism. Intra-class correlations in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins were calculated separately in premenarche and premenarche group for each ED subscale Results. 48 premenarche twins (30 MZ twins and 18 DZ twins) and 110 premenarche twins (66 MZ and 44 DZ twins) were included. The intra-class correlations suggested no genetic influence on the total ChEAT score of participants at the premenarche stage. For the premenarche participants, however, sources of variance suggested a very high heritability. Regarding the EDI sub-scales, only the trait "Ineffectiveness" exhibited a moderate heritability among premenarche subjects, while all the four eating sub-scales showed moderate heritability estimates in the premenarche stage group. Conclusions. Our findings reveal that there are significant differences in genetic and environmental effects on eating attitudes and behaviors depending on being in a premenarche or premenarche stage. Therefore, clinicians should pay attention to female adolescents at high risk of developing ED, especially during the critical period of menarche