FACIAL COMMUNICATION IN ABUSED AND NONABUSED CHILDREN

This project will investigate the development of abused and nonabused children's ability to recognize and utilize facial expressions of emotion. In a pilot study, 3 1/2-6 1/2 year old abused children were found to be poorer than nonabused children in the recognition of emotional facial expressions. In the present project, I will further compare the recognition abilities of these children. In addition, I will explore possible sources of abused children's difficulties by comparing the mothers of abused vs. nonabused children in terms of their appropriate use of facial expressions of emotion. By examining the relationship between children's recognition abilities and their mothers' expressive behavior, I will obtain information regarding the experiential basis underlying children's development of facial recognition capacities. In the proposed project, I also will examine the behavior of abused and nonabused children in a semi-naturalistic peer play situation which involves taking turns with a desirable object. Both children's own facial behavior and their responses to facial expressions produced by peers will be studied. In addition, other aspects of their interaction strategies (i.e., use of language) will be explored. The comparison of abused and nonabused children's behavior during peer interaction may demonstrate significant social implications of their facial communication abilities (or lack thereof). In addition, the information obtained in this project regarding the recognition and utilization of facial expressions by abused children may serve as a partial basis for the development of social skills training procedures for these children and their parents.