Recognition of emotional facial expressions by abusive mothers and their children.

Investigated the ability of abused children and their abusive mothers to decode facial expressions of emotion relative to nonabused children and their mothers. Forty-six children and their mothers (23 control and 23 abusive dyads) were presented with a series of photographs of six emotional expressions posed by both child and adult models. Abused children were less accurate than nonabused children in their identification of emotional expression, as were younger children. Children in both groups were less accurate in decoding adult as opposed to child expressions. Abused children were also less orderly and systematic in their structuring of emotions. Abusive and nonabusive mothers did not differ in their identification of emotional expressions or in their structuring of emotions.

[1]  C. Edelbrock,et al.  Manual for the Child: Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile , 1983 .

[2]  C. Ayoub,et al.  Predictive validity of the child abuse potential inventory. , 1984, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[3]  B. Egeland,et al.  Prospective study of the significance of life stress in the etiology of child abuse. , 1980, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[4]  D. Wolfe,et al.  Behavioral comparisons of children from abusive and distressed families. , 1983, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[5]  Attachment and early maltreatment. , 1981 .

[6]  O. Haynes,et al.  Abusive and nonabusive mothers' ability to identify general and specific emotion signals of infants. , 1987, Child development.

[7]  I. M. Evans,et al.  Analysis and treatment of child abuse: A set of behavioral propositions , 1978 .

[8]  H. Borke,et al.  Interpersonal Perception of Young Children: Egocentrism or Empathy?. , 1971 .

[9]  T. Gaensbauer,et al.  Distorted affective communications in abused/neglected infants and their potential impact on caretakers. , 1979, Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry.

[10]  C. Izard.  The face of emotion , 1971 .

[11]  J. Milner,et al.  An inventory for the identification of child abusers. , 1979, Journal of clinical psychology.

[12]  E. Elmer,et al.  Developmental characteristics of abused children. , 1967, Pediatrics.

[13]  L. Camras,et al.  Children's Understanding of Facial Expressions Used during Conflict Encounters. , 1980 .

[14]  J. Waterman,et al.  The social cognitive development of abused children. , 1981, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[15]  J. Milner,et al.  Prediction and explanation of child abuse. , 1980, Journal of clinical psychology.

[16]  B. Rothenberg.  Children's Social Sensitivity and the Relationship to Interpersonal Competence, Intrapersonal Comfort, and Intellectual Level. , 1970 .

[17]  M. Zuckerman,et al.  Decoding and encoding facial expressions in preschool-age children , 1979 .

[18]  J. Sandler,et al.  Training child abusers in the use of positive reinforcement practices. , 1978, Behaviour research and therapy.

[19]  T. Gaensbauer.  Regulation of emotional expression in infants from two contrasting caretaking environments. , 1982, Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry.

[20]  L. Camras,et al.  Recognition of emotional expression by abused children , 1983 .

[21]  H. P. Martin,et al.  Behavioral Observations of Abused Children , 1977, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[22]  L. Camras,et al.  Recognition and Posing of Emotional Expressions by Abused Children and Their Mothers , 1988 .

[23]  J. Russell,et al.  Preschool Children's Interpretation of Facial Expressions of Emotion , 1984 .

[24]  J. Spinetta.  Parental personality factors in child abuse. , 1978, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[25]  K. Lyons-Ruth,et al.  Infants at Social Risk: Relations Among Infant Maltreatment, Maternal Behavior, and Infant Attachment Behavior , 1987 .

[26]  C. Johnston,et al.  A comparison of the mother‐child interactions of physically abused and non‐abused children during play and task situations , 1983 .