Understanding Mentalization and Emotional Regulation in Teens with Behavioral Disorders A Study of Teenagers Aged 12 to 17 with Externalized Behavioral Issues

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying adolescents with behavioral disorders characterized by behaviors such as aggressiveness, agitation, running away, and self-harm. These disorders involve difficulties in mentalization, which is the process of understanding ones own and others mental states, and are linked to emotional dysregulation. The study aims to better understand these adolescents by integrating their mentalizing abilities, emotional regulation, and parent interactions to improve future psychological care approaches. This is an observational study that categorizes participants into four mentalization groups hypomentalisation, hypermentalisation, correct mentalisation, and lack of mentalisation. The study evaluates emotional regulation through eye movement tracking and physiological measures like electrodermal activity. It also assesses self-reported mentalizing abilities, emotional and behavioral functioning, attachment characteristics, adolescent-parent interactions, and parental reflexive capacities. Participants will undergo various assessments including eye tracking to measure eye fixation duration, dwell time, and fixation count over 12 months. Questionnaires and scales will evaluate mentalization, emotional regulation, behavior, attachment, and parent-child interactions. The study collects comprehensive bio-neuro-social data to establish mentalization profiles and their neurophysiological correlates, providing foundational information for future therapy development and evaluation in this population.

Characterization of Mentalization Profiles Related to Emotional Regulation Among Teenagers With Behavioral Disorders