Social emotions require the correct integration of emotional, cognitive, and social processes and are critical for complex social interactions. Adolescent criminal offenders (AOs) show abnormalities in the experience of basic emotions. However, most research has focused solely on basic emotions, neglecting complex social emotions that could be critical for social reintegration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral and neural correlates of social emotions (envy and Schadenfreude) in AOs. We explored the experience of complex social emotions, as well as their anatomical correlates, in AOs (n = 19) and a nonoffenders control group (NOs, n = 20). Additionally, we assessed the relationship between social emotions, executive functions (EFs), and fluid intelligence (FI). Structural brain imaging was obtained in all participants. The results showed that AOs had significantly lower envy and Schadenfreude ratings and exhibited lower performance in EFs compared with NOs. The measurement of EFs relied on the INECO frontal screening (IFS). Experiencing fewer social emotions was associated with diminished EFs but not with FI. Moreover, in AOs, reduced levels of envy and Schadenfreude were linked with reduced gray matter volumes in regions subserving mentalizing abilities (inferior parietal lobe and precuneus) and socioemotional processing (inferior and middle temporal regions), as well as key hubs of the executive frontoparietal network (inferior parietal lobule, orbital and rectus gyri). Additional analysis on the AOs revealed no associations between the type of crime and our variables of interest (EFs, FI and social emotions). Our findings are the first to provide evidence on abnormalities in the experience of social emotions in AOs that are associated with neurocognitive markers of social cognition and EFs. Understanding social emotions and their abnormalities (under-experience) as complex intertwined processes may have important future translational implications, including risk prediction for social adaptation/reintegration, sociocognitive targeted interventions, and skill training for social emotions in vulnerable populations.

社会情感需要情感、认知和社会过程的正确整合，对于复杂的社会互动至关重要。青少年犯罪者（AOs）在基本情绪体验方面表现出异常。然而，大多数研究只关注基本情绪，忽略了可能对重新融入社会至关重要的复杂社会情绪。本研究的目的是调查AO中社会情绪（嫉妒和幸灾乐祸）的行为和神经相关性。我们在 AOs ( n = 19) 和非犯罪者对照组 (NOs, n= 20）。此外，我们还评估了社交情绪、执行功能 (EF) 和流体智力 (FI) 之间的关系。所有参与者都获得了结构性脑成像。结果表明，与 NOs 相比，AOs 的嫉妒和幸灾乐祸评分显着较低，并且在 EFs 中表现出较低的表现。EF 的测量依赖于 INECO 正面筛选 (IFS)。体验较少的社交情绪与 EF 减少有关，但与 FI 无关。此外，在 AO 中，嫉妒和幸灾乐祸的程度降低了与支持心理化能力（顶叶下叶和楔前叶）和社会情绪处理（颞下区和中颞区）以及执行额顶网络的关键枢纽（顶下小叶、眶回和直肌）的灰质体积减少有关. 对 AO 的额外分析显示，犯罪类型与我们感兴趣的变量（EF、FI 和社会情绪）之间没有关联。我们的研究结果首次提供了与社会认知和 EF 的神经认知标志物相关的 AO 中社会情绪体验异常的证据。将社会情绪及其异常（经验不足）理解为复杂的交织过程可能会对未来的转化产生重要的影响，