Empathy, Psychopathy and Autism: Behavioural Associations and the Role of an Oxytocin Receptor Polymorphism in a Non-clinical Adult Population

NCT04746027 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: SMEC_2016-17_092
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 126
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This is an investigation into the associations between psychopathic traits, autistic traits and empathy (cognitive and affective) in the general population as measured using three self report questionnaires and one behavioural task. Participants will also be genotyped for OXTR rs53576 to assess whether this mutation associates with any of the behavioural traits investigated.

Conditions

Empathy; Autism; Psychopathy

Keywords

psychology; biopsychology; genetics

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• 31-item Questionnaire for Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE)

  Self-reported empathy levels. 19 items assessing cognitive empathy, 12 items assessing affective empathy. All items are rated on a Likert scale of agreement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) with 4 items being reverse scored prior to analysis.

  20 minutes

• 36-item 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' behavioural task (RMET)

  A behavioural task to assess a sub-scale of cognitive empathy, emotion recognition. RMET establishes an individual's ability to recognise the emotional state of strangers in photographs with only their eyes as visual cues, with each item consisting of a photograph of a stranger expressing a specific emotional state. Each item is scored as 1 for correct and 0 for incorrect, with a higher total score indicating a greater ability at recognising the emotional state of others.

  20 minutes

• 26-item Levenson's Self-Report for Psychopathy (LSRP)

  A self reporting questionnaire assessing psychopathic traits without the requirement fo a clinical assessment. 16 items assess primary psychopathy and 10 items assess secondary psychopathy. All items are rated on a Likert scale of agreement of 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree) with 7 items having their score reversed prior to analysis.

  20 minutes

• 50-item Autism Quotient (AQ)

  A self reporting questionnaire to assess autistic traits. The scale consists of 50 items, with 10 items fort each of the 5 subscales; social skill, attention switching, attention to detail, communication and imagination. Items are rated on a Likert scale of agreement from 0 (strongly or slightly disagree) to 1 (strongly or slightly agree), with 50% of the items being reversed prior to analysis.

  20 minutes

• OXTR rs53576 genotype

  Saliva is collected from participants via passive drool, and stabiliser provided by the DNA extraction kit manufacturer is added (SalivaGene Collection Module II; Stratec Molecular GmbH). An extraction protocol provided by the kit manufacturer is followed to extract DNA from each saliva sample (PSP® SalivaGene 17 DNA Kit 1011, Stratec Molecular GmbH). Genotyping was carried out using a StepOnePlus thermocycler (Applied Biosystems) with a predesigned TaqMan® SNP genotyping assay for rs53576 with code C\_\_3290335\_10. Each DNA sample was run in duplicate and the PCR procedure was performed following manufacturer guidelines. Results will be flagged as either AA, AG or GG genotype.

  3 days

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population is intended to be representative of the general population. Participants must be over 18 years of age, proficient in English comprehension and no current or previous diagnosis of psychopathy, autism or related conditions. Recruitment will not be excluded based on on ethnicity, nationality, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation or any other characteristic. For the analysis of the behavioural traits investigated, 128 participants (58 male, 70 female) between the ages of 19 and 68 years (median age = 26) were included in the final analysis. For the genetic aspect of the study, 96 participants (40 male, 56 female) between the ages of 19 and 68 years (median age = 26) were included in the final analysis.

You may qualify if:

• At least 18 years of age at time of participation
• Proficient English reading comprehension

You may not qualify if:

• Current or previous diagnosis of a psychopathy, autism or related conditions.
• Not proficient in English reading comprehension

Sponsors & Collaborators

• St Mary's University College: lead

Study Sites (1)

St Mary's University

London, TW14SX, United Kingdom

Location

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

DNA samples extracted from saliva samples. These samples were collected via passive drool.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autistic Disorder; Antisocial Personality Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Personality Disorders

Study Officials

• Yiannis Mavrommatis, PhD

  St. Mary's University, Twickenham

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Kate Lawrence, PhD

  St Marys University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 4, 2021
• First Posted: February 9, 2021
• Study Start: July 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: March 31, 2018
• Study Completion: November 1, 2018
• Last Updated: February 9, 2021

Record last verified: 2020-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)