Impairment in Social Cognition in People with Substance Use Disorders

Adolfo Piñón Blanco^1,2,3Sonia Rodrigues⁴Joana Teixeira⁵Catia Coutinho⁶Isabela Faria⁴Ilda Murta⁴Ana Isabel Tavares⁶Luis Iglesias-Rejas^1,3Indalecio Carrera-Machado^3,7Alejandro A. García Caballero^3,8Olga Gutierrez-Martinez⁹Francisco Otero-Lamas^1,3Carlos Spuch^10,2,3*

• ¹Drug Dependency Assistance Unit of the Vigo City Council (CEDRO), Vigo, Spain
• ²Department of Neuroscience, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Galicia Sur (IISGS), Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
• ³Red de Investigación en Atención Primaria de adicciones (RIAPAd), Madrid, Asturias, Spain
• ⁴Coimbra Hospital and University Center, Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
• ⁵Lisbon Central Hospital Center, Lisbon, Portugal
• ⁶Integrated Response Centre of Porto Occidental, Porto, Portugal
• ⁷Citizens' Association for the Fight Against Drugs (Asociación Ciudadana de Lucha contra la Droga), A Coruña, Spain
• ⁸Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Ourense, Orense, Spain
• ⁹University Hospital Complex of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
• ¹⁰Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Madrid, Madrid Community, Spain

Substance use disorders are associated with impairments in various neuropsychological functions.We evaluated potential alterations in social cognition and differences between men and women in individuals with substance use disorders undergoing treatment at Addiction and Dependency Intervention Centers in Portugal. The assessment utilized the Ekman 60 Faces Test (EFT), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), Hinting Task, and Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ). Results showed that 70.2% of participants exhibited social cognition impairments (50% of women and 79.5% of men). Compared to non-clinical populations, individuals with social cognition impairments displayed significant differences in recognizing emotions such as happiness, fear, sadness, disgust, anger, and in the total EFT score. Differences were also observed in the fantasy and personal distress dimensions of the IRI, as well as in hostility, intentionality, and aggression biases on the AIHQ. Slight differences were found between men and women, but were not statistically significant. We discuss the clinical relevance of social cognition alterations and their potential utility in improving diagnostic and therapeutic processes for individuals with substance use disorders.