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

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

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07439276
Acronym
COGSO
Enrollment
100
Registered
2026-02-27
Start date
2026-04-08
Completion date
2029-04-01
Last updated
2026-04-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

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

Keywords

Neurodevelopmental disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Atypical neurodevelopmental disorder, Social cognition, Children and teenagers

Brief 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.

Detailed description

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. Patients will be recruited from the child psychiatry department of Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital as part of a diagnostic or follow-up process. A consultation will be offered to participate in the research, during which participants will complete the COGSO battery as well as additional tasks assessing social cognition and executive functions, and parent questionnaires.

Interventions

OTHERTest

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

OTHERQuestionnaires

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

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Lead SponsorOTHER
URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Children and adolescents aged 8 to 16 years * Proficiency in French (native language) * Information and consent obtained from those holding parental authority, and agreement from the child or adolescent * No recently modified (\<6 weeks) psychotropic medication from the following categories: antidepressants, anxiolytics, antipsychotics, psychostimulants, mood stabilizers. * IQ above 70 (WISC-V) * Criteria for Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (according to DSM-5) * Multiple complex developmental disorder : Symptoms characteristic of a neurodevelopmental disorder without meeting all the criteria for a specific disorder and presence of multiple complex developmental disorder criteria with at least 5 elements from the specified categories.

Exclusion criteria

\- Having an active neurological disorder (e.g., active epilepsy)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall social cognition score and scores per dimension, obtained on the multidimensional social cognition batteryDay 1The overall social cognition score, as well as the scores for each dimension, obtained on the multidimensional social cognition battery, will be compared between groups of children and adolescents with ASD, ADHD, and MCDD. The sensitivity and specificity of the multidimensional social cognition battery will be assessed by evaluating the ability of the tests to highlight socio-cognitive difficulties in clinical children, without claiming to be used for independent diagnosis.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Influence of socio-demographic factors on social cognition performanceDay 1Study of the influence of socio-demographic factors: analyze the impact of factors such as age, sex, socio-economic level and family characteristics on social cognition performance obtained on the multidimensional social cognition battery, in order to better understand individual and contextual variations.
Influence of cognitive factors on social cognitionDay 1Study of the influence of cognitive factors on social cognition: examine the influence of overall cognitive efficiency (IQ) and executive functions (EF) on social cognition abilities, assessed by the multidimensional social cognition battery, in order to identify the interactions between cognitive and sociocognitive dimensions.

Countries

France

Contacts

CONTACTDorothée Leunen
dorothee.leunen@aphp.fr0171196346
CONTACTHélène Morel
helene.morel@aphp.fr0171196346
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDorothée Leunen

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

STUDY_DIRECTORLisa Ouss, M.D.

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 17, 2026