Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T06:08:07.165Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Negative parental emotional environment increases the association between childhood behavioral problems and impaired recognition of negative facial expressions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2021

Daniel T. Burley Open the ORCID record for Daniel T. Burley [Opens in a new window] ,
Christopher W. Hobson ,
Dolapo Adegboye ,
Katherine H. Shelton  and
Stephanie H.M. van Goozen Open the ORCID record for Stephanie H.M. van Goozen [Opens in a new window]
Daniel T. Burley
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Christopher W. Hobson
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Dolapo Adegboye
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Katherine H. Shelton
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Stephanie H.M. van Goozen*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
*
Author for Correspondence: Stephanie H.M. van Goozen, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK; E-mail: vanGoozenS@cardiff.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Impaired facial emotion recognition is a transdiagnostic risk factor for a range of psychiatric disorders. Childhood behavioral difficulties and parental emotional environment have been independently associated with impaired emotion recognition; however, no study has examined the contribution of these factors in conjunction. We measured recognition of negative (sad, fear, anger), neutral, and happy facial expressions in 135 children aged 5–7 years referred by their teachers for behavioral problems. Parental emotional environment was assessed for parental expressed emotion (EE) – characterized by negative comments, reduced positive comments, low warmth, and negativity towards their child – using the 5-minute speech sample. Child behavioral problems were measured using the teacher-informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Child behavioral problems and parental EE were independently associated with impaired recognition of negative facial expressions specifically. An interactive effect revealed that the combination of both factors was associated with the greatest risk for impaired recognition of negative faces, and in particular sad facial expressions. No relationships emerged for the identification of happy facial expressions. This study furthers our understanding of multidimensional processes associated with the development of facial emotion recognition and supports the importance of early interventions that target this domain.

Keywords

behavioral problemsemotional developmentfacial emotion recognitionparental expressed emotion
Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , August 2022 , pp. 936 - 945
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Airdrie, J. N., Langley, K., Thapar, A., & van Goozen, S. H. (2018). Facial emotion recognition and eye gaze in ADHD with and without comorbid conduct disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57, 561–570. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.016CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alves, N. T. (2013). Recognition of static and dynamic facial expressions: A study review. Estudos de Psicologia (Natal), 18, 125–130. doi: 10.1590/S1413-294X2013000100020CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A., Daley, D., Hastings, R., & Stevenson, J. (2004). Mothers’ expressed emotion towards children with and without intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 48, 628–638. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2003.00564.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, R. (2005). Applying a cognitive neuroscience perspective to the disorder of psychopathy. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 865–891. doi: 10.1017/S0954579405050418CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, R., Colledge, E., Murray, L., & Mitchell, D. G. V. (2001). A selective impairment in the processing of sad and fearful expressions in children with psychopathic tendencies. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 491–498. doi: 10.1023/a:1012225108281CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burley, D. T., Gray, N. S., & Snowden, R. J. (2017). As far as the eye can see: Relationship between psychopathic traits and pupil response to affective stimuli. PLoS One, 12, e0167436. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167436CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burley, D. T., & van Goozen, S. H. M. (2020). Pupil response to affective stimuli: A biomarker of early conduct problems in young children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48, 693–701. doi: 10.1007/s10802-020-00620-zCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Callaghan, B. L., & Richardson, R. (2011). Maternal separation results in early emergence of adult-like fear and extinction learning in infant rats. Behavioral Neuroscience, 125, 20–28. doi:10.1037/a0022008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Callaghan, B. L., & Richardson, R. (2012). The effect of adverse rearing environments on persistent memories in young rats: Removing the brakes on infant fear memories. Translational Psychiatry, 2, e138–e138. doi: 10.1038/tp.2012.65CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Callaghan, B. L., & Tottenham, N. (2016). The stress acceleration hypothesis: Effects of early-life adversity on emotion circuits and behavior. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 7, 76–81. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.11.018CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, A., Houts, R. M., Belsky, D. W., Goldman-Mellor, S. J., Harrington, H., Israel, S., … Poulton, R. (2014). The p factor: One general psychopathology factor in the structure of psychiatric disorders? Clinical Psychological Science, 2, 119–137. doi: 10.1177%2F2167702613497473CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Morgan, J., Rutter, M., Taylor, A., Arseneault, L., … Polo-Tomas, M. (2004). Maternal expressed emotion predicts children's antisocial behavior problems: Using monozygotic-twin differences to identify environmental effects on behavioral development. Developmental Psychology, 40, 149–161. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.40.2.149CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castro, V. L., Halberstadt, A. G., Lozada, F. T., & Craig, A. B. (2015). Parents’ emotion-related beliefs, behaviors, and skills predict children's recognition of emotion. Infant and Child Development, 24, 1–22. doi: 10.1002/icd.1868CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chronaki, G., Hadwin, J. A., Garner, M., Maurage, P., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. (2015). The development of emotion recognition from facial expressions and non-linguistic vocalizations during childhood. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 33, 218–236. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12075CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collin, L., Bindra, J., Raju, M., Gillberg, C., & Minnis, H. (2013). Facial emotion recognition in child psychiatry: A systematic review. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34, 1505–1520. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2013.01.008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
da Silva Ferreira, G. C., Crippa, J. A., & de Lima Osório, F. (2014). Facial emotion processing and recognition among maltreated children: A systematic literature review. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1460. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01460CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., Zinsser, K., & Wyatt, T. M. (2014). How preschoolers’ social–emotional learning predicts their early school success: Developing theory-promoting, competency-based assessments. Infant and Child Development, 23, 426–454. doi: 10.1002/icd.1840CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diedenhofen, B., & Musch, J. (2015). Cocor: A comprehensive solution for the statistical comparison of correlations. PLoS One, 10, e0121945. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121945CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodge, K. A. (1980). Social cognition and children's aggressive behavior. Child Development, 51, 162–170. doi: 10.2307/1129603CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, O. J., & Clark, V. (1969). Correlation coefficients measured on the same individuals. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 64, 366–377. doi: 10.1080/01621459.1969.10500981CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GL Assessment. (2014). Lucid ability [computer software]. London: Lucid Research Limited.Google Scholar
Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581–586. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, R., Ford, T., Simmons, H., Gatward, R., & Meltzer, H. (2000). Using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 534–539. doi: 10.1192/bjp.177.6.534CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hastings, R. P., Daley, D., Burns, C., & Beck, A. (2006). Maternal distress and expressed emotion: Cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships with behavior problems of children with intellectual disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 111, 48–61. doi: 10.1352/0895-8017(2006)111[48:MDAEEC]2.0.CO;2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herba, C. M., Landau, S., Russell, T., Ecker, C., & Phillips, M. L. (2006). The development of emotion-processing in children: Effects of age, emotion, and intensity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 1098–1106. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01652.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hittner, J. B., May, K., & Silver, N. C. (2003). A Monte Carlo evaluation of tests for comparing dependent correlations. The Journal of General Psychology, 130, 149–168. doi: 10.1080/00221300309601282CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hubble, K., Bowen, K. L., Moore, S. C., & van Goozen, S. H. (2015). Improving negative emotion recognition in young offenders reduces subsequent crime. PLoS One, 10, e0132035. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132035CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunnikin, L. M., & van Goozen, S. H. (2019). How can we use knowledge about the neurobiology of emotion recognition in practice? Journal of Criminal Justice, 65, 101537. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.01.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunnikin, L. M., Wells, A. E., Ash, D. P., & Van Goozen, S. H. (2020). The nature and extent of emotion recognition and empathy impairments in children showing disruptive behavior referred into a crime prevention programme. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 363–371. doi:10.1007/s00787-019-01358-wCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunnikin, L. M., Wells, A. E., Ash, D. P., & van Goozen, S. H. (2021). Can facial emotion recognition be rapidly improved in children with disruptive behavior? A targeted and preventative early intervention study. Development and Psychopathology, 1–9. doi:10.1017/S0954579420001091.Google ScholarPubMed
Izard, C. E., Fine, S., Schultz, D., Mostow, A., Ackerman, B., & Youngstrom, E. (2001). Emotion knowledge as a predictor of social behavior and academic competence in children at risk. Psychological Science, 12, 18–23. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00304CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Izard, C. E., Woodburn, E. M., Finlon, K. J., Krauthamer-Ewing, E. S., Grossman, S. R., & Seidenfeld, A. (2011). Emotion knowledge, emotion utilization, and emotion regulation. Emotion Review, 3, 44–52. doi: 10.1177/1754073910380972CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, J. H., & Karno, M. (1992). The meaning of expressed emotion: Theoretical issues raised by cross-cultural research. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 9–21. doi: 10.1176/ajp.149.1.9Google ScholarPubMed
Kimonis, E. R., Fanti, K. A., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Mertan, B., Goulter, N., & Katsimicha, E. (2016). Can callous-unemotional traits be reliably measured in preschoolers? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44, 625–638. doi: 10.1007/s10802-015-0075-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohls, G., Baumann, S., Gundlach, M., Scharke, W., Bernhard, A., Martinelli, A., … Konrad, K. (2020). Investigating sex differences in emotion recognition, learning, and regulation among youths with conduct disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59, 263–273. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.04.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kujawa, A., Dougherty, L., Durbin, C. E., Laptook, R., Torpey, D., & Klein, D. N. (2014). Emotion recognition in preschool children: Associations with maternal depression and early parenting. Development & Psychopathology, 26, 159–170. doi: 10.1017/S0954579413000928CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langner, O., Dotsch, R., Bijlstra, G., Wigboldus, D. H. J., Hawk, S. T., & van Knippenberg, A. (2010). Presentation and validation of the Radboud faces database. Cognition & Emotion, 24, 1377–1388. doi: 10.1080/02699930903485076CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leppänen, J. M., & Nelson, C. A. (2006). The development and neural bases of facial emotion recognition. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 34, 207–246. doi: 10.1002/icd.239CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Magaña, A. B., Goldstein, M. J., Karno, M., Miklowitz, D. J., Jenkins, J., & Falloon, I. R. (1986). A brief method for assessing expressed emotion in relatives of psychiatric patients. Psychiatry Research, 17(3), 203–212. doi:10.1016/0165-1781(86)90049-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marsh, A. A., & Blair, R. J. R. (2008). Deficits in facial affect recognition among antisocial populations: A meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 454–465. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.08.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martel, M. M., Pan, P. M., Hoffmann, M. S., Gadelha, A., do Rosário, M. C., Mari, J. J., … Bressan, R. A. (2017). A general psychopathology factor (P factor) in children: Structural model analysis and external validation through familial risk and child global executive function. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126, 137. doi: 10.1037/abn0000205CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin-Key, N. A., Graf, E., Adams, W., & Fairchild, G. (2018). Facial emotion recognition and eye movement behavior in conduct disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59, 247–257. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12795CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meltzer, H., Gatward, R., Goodman, R., & Ford, T. (2003). Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain. International Review of Psychiatry, 15, 185–187. doi: 10.1080/0954026021000046155CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moriceau, S., Shionoya, K., Jakubs, K., & Sullivan, R. M. (2009). Early-life stress disrupts attachment learning: The role of amygdala corticosterone, locus ceruleus corticotropin releasing hormone, and olfactory bulb norepinephrine. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 15745–15755. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.4106-09.2009CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2005/2014). Excessive stress disrupts the architecture of the developing brain: Working paper number 3. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.netGoogle Scholar
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2010). Early experiences can alter gene expression and affect long-term development. Working paper number 10. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.netGoogle Scholar
Parker, J. G., Rubin, K. H., Erath, S. A., Wojslawowicz, J. C., & Buskirk, A. A. (2006). Peer relationships, child development, and adjustment: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology, theory and method (Vol. 1, pp. 419–493). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Penton-Voak, I. S., Thomas, J., Gage, S. H., McMurran, M., McDonald, S., & Munafò, M. R. (2013). Increasing recognition of happiness in ambiguous facial expressions reduces anger and aggressive behavior. Psychological Science, 24, 688–697. doi: 10.1177%2F0956797612459657CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peris, T. S., & Miklowitz, D. J. (2015). Parental expressed emotion and youth psychopathology: New directions for an old construct. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46, 863–873. doi: 10.1007/s10578-014-0526-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pollak, S. D., Cicchetti, D., Hornung, K., & Reed, A. (2000). Recognizing emotion in faces: Developmental effects of child abuse and neglect. Developmental Psychology, 36, 679–688. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.36.5.679CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pollak, S. D., & Kistler, D. J. (2002). Early experience is associated with the development of categorical representations for facial expressions of emotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 9072–9076. doi: 10.1073/pnas.142165999CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pollak, S. D., & Sinha, P. (2002). Effects of early experience on children's recognition of facial displays of emotion. Developmental Psychology, 38, 784–791. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.38.5.784CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sapolsky, R. M. (2000). The possibility of neurotoxicity in the hippocampus in major depression: A primer on neuron death. Biological Psychiatry, 48, 755–765. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(00)00971-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sher-Censor, E. (2015). Five minute speech sample in developmental research: A review. Developmental Review, 36, 127–155. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2015.01.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Zonneveld, L., de Sonneville, L., Van Goozen, S., & Swaab, H. (2018). Recognition of facial emotion and affective prosody in children at high risk of criminal behavior. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 28, 57–64. doi:10.1017/s1355617718000796Google Scholar
Verhulst, F. C., Koot, H. M., & Van der Ende, J. (1994). Differential predictive value of parents’ and teachers’ reports of children's problem behaviors: A longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22, 531–546. doi: 10.1007/bf02168936CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, A. E., Hunnikin, L. M., Ash, D. P, & Van Goozen, S. H. M. (2020). Improving emotion recognition is associated with subsequent mental health and well-being in children with severe behavioural problems. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 1–9. doi:10.1007/s00787-020-01652-yGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, A. E., Hunnikin, L. M., Ash, D. P., & Van Goozen, S. H. M. (2019). Children with behavioral problems misinterpret the emotions and intentions of others. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48, 213–221. doi:10.1007/s10802-019-00594-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welsh Government. (2019). Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Retrieved from https://gov.wales/welsh-index-multiple-deprivationGoogle Scholar
Weston, S., Hawes, D. J., & Pasalich, D. S. (2017). The five minute speech sample as a measure of parent–child dynamics: Evidence from observational research. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26, 118–136. doi: 10.1007/s10826-016-0549-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, S. F., Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Voss, J. L., Petitclerc, A., McCarthy, K., Blair, R. J. R., & Wakschlag, L. S. (2016). Can the fear recognition deficits associated with callous-unemotional traits be identified in early childhood? Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 38, 672–684. doi: 10.1080/13803395.2016.1149154CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed