Facial emotion recognition in children with externalising behaviours: A systematic review

Abstract

Difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are associated with a range of mental health and antisocial presentations in adolescents and adults. Externalising behaviours in children are often one of the earliest signs of risk for the development of such difficulties. This article systematically reviews the evidence (from both group and correlational studies) for whether there is a relationship between FER and externalising behaviours in pre-adolescent children (aged 12 and under), both across and within externalising behaviour domains (hyperactivity, conduct problems, callous-unemotional traits, and aggression). Four electronic databases were searched producing 1,296 articles. Articles were included if they used validated measures of FER and externalising behaviours. Sixteen articles met criteria for inclusion in the review. Overall, the results suggested FER problems are present in ADHD, CP and callous-unemotional presentations, and in samples of children with higher levels of externalising problems rather than in community samples. However, there was no consistent evidence for specific emotions being implicated in the studies reviewed. Clinically, the findings suggest that FER difficulties are commonly associated with externalising behaviours, and hence this review offers some support that FER deficits could be a relevant target of intervention for externalising behaviours. However, more longitudinal studies are required, that control for other variables that might underlie FER difficulties (e.g. IQ or basic Theory of Mind abilities), to inform our knowledge of whether FER difficulties are a causal factor in externalising behaviours.

Effect of short-term methylphenidate on social impairment in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: systematic review

“…The results of studies examining the effect of MPH on emotion recognition in children with ADHD are somewhat contradictory. Both Gumustas et al [ 101 ] and Hall et al [ 102 ] did not find significant differences between a TD control group and children with ADHD that were tested while unmedicated, in contradiction of previous findings that show impairments [ 25 , 113 ]. Thus, it is possible that their study design was not sensitive to the relevant deficits that are characteristic in children with ADHD, and so their additional observation that MPH (either after a 12 week-long medication regime [ 101 ] or while conducting the test [ 102 ]) had no statistically significant effect on performance is inconclusive.…”

“…Communication of emotions via nonverbal cues may be more complex, but is also a relatively universal skill (see, for example, [ 111 ]) that is closely linked to attention [ 112 ]. Studies to date suggest that children with ADHD experience some impairment in the recognition of emotional facial expressions [ 25 , 113 ], although broadly differing results vary as to the specific emotions that present challenges. Since MPH is known to increase sustained attention in children with ADHD (see, for example, [ 114 – 116 ]), it is reasonable to assume that children with ADHD would perform better on emotion recognition tasks while medicated with MPH.…”

Childhood Conduct History is Linked to Amygdalohippocampal Changes in Healthy Adults: A Neuroimaging Behavioral Study

“…It has been indicated that patients with conduct problems show impairments in facial emotion recognition [36]; however, the etiology remains unclear. In this regard, Martin-Key and colleagues examined the function of eye fixation on emotionally informative face regions in CD subjects and found a minor effect for abnormalities in fixation behaviors; therefore, they attributed impaired recognition of facial expressions to problems in the comprehension of emotional signs [37].…”

Childhood Antisocial Behavior: A Neurodevelopmental Problem

“…Difficulties in emotion recognition are well documented in children and adolescents with a range of mental health, neurodevelopmental and behavioral issues, indicating that impaired emotion recognition is a transdiagnostic risk factor (Collin, Bindra, Raju, Gillberg and Minnis, 2013;Cooper, Hobson & Van Goozen, 2020). In individuals with ASB, reduced emotional awareness and a failure to recognize cues from the environment that signal threat, distress or submission can lead to a lack of empathy or guilt, which may continue and intensify the problematic behavior (Blair, 2005;.…”