Rose, Lucie
Evaluating social cognition in childhood: Overview and challenges
- 2023.
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Social cognition is a crucial facet of human cognition, allowing individuals to interact in an adapted manner with their environment and those around them. Throughout the lifespan, social-cognitive abilities play a key role in social adjustment and well-being. Social cognition difficulties can lead to impaired daily life functioning, as well as to social isolation. Despite this observation and despite growing research interest in the past decade, evaluation of social-cognitive functioning remains relatively limited in pediatric settings. We survey validated instruments available in French for the assessment of social cognition in children, as well as instruments for the evaluation of adaptive behavior in the context of social cognition difficulties. We also highlight social cognition deficits observed in various pathologies and neurodevelopmental disorders, including social communication deficits, which have consequences for social life and peer appreciation. These findings stress the importance of a detailed clinical investigation of the various facets of social cognition, and therefore the importance of developing instruments apt for use throughout childhood.