Facial Emotion Recognition in Children with High Functioning Autism and Children with Social Phobia

    Authors

    N. Wong; D. C. Beidel; D. E. Sarver;V. Sims

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Child Psychiat. Hum. Dev.

    Keywords

    Social skill deficits; Facial emotion recognition; Facial affect; recognition; High functioning autism; Social phobia; ASPERGER-SYNDROME; SPECTRUM DISORDERS; ANXIETY INVENTORY; DISCRIMINATIVE; VALIDITY; EXPRESSION RECOGNITION; EFFECTIVENESS THERAPY; BEHAVIORAL; TREATMENT; FACE RECOGNITION; SCHEMATIC FACES; SPAI-C; Psychology, Developmental; Pediatrics; Psychiatry

    Abstract

    Recognizing facial affect is essential for effective social functioning. This study examines emotion recognition abilities in children aged 7-13 years with High Functioning Autism (HFA = 19), Social Phobia (SP = 17), or typical development (TD = 21). Findings indicate that all children identified certain emotions more quickly (e.g., happy < anger, disgust, sad < fear) and more accurately (happy) than other emotions (disgust). No evidence was found for negative interpretation biases in children with HFA or SP (i.e., all groups showed similar ability to discriminate neutral from non-neutral facial expressions). However, distinct between-group differences emerged when considering facial expression intensity. Specifically, children with HFA detected mild affective expressions less accurately than TD peers. Behavioral ratings of social effectiveness or social anxiety were uncorrelated with facial affect recognition abilities across children. Findings have implications for social skills treatment programs targeting youth with skill deficits.

    Journal Title

    Child Psychiatry & Human Development

    Volume

    43

    Issue/Number

    5

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    775

    Last Page

    794

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000307883500008

    ISSN

    0009-398X

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