Childhood maltreatment influences parental mimicry of children's emotional facial expressions.

BACKGROUND

Childhood maltreatment can disrupt socio-emotional functioning, potentially influencing how parents respond to children's emotional facial expressions. Mimicry, an automatic reaction to others' facial expressions, is a critical mechanism for social bonding and affiliation in parent-child relationships. However, the effects of childhood maltreatment on parental mimicry remain underexplored.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the relationship between different forms of childhood maltreatment and parents' mimicry of children's emotional facial expressions.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

Fifty-seven parents participated in an emotion recognition task conducted either at a local community organization or at the university laboratory.

METHODS

Parents' facial reactions were recorded and analyzed using FaceReader software to detect mimicry. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) assessed parental history of maltreatment. A path analysis model was conducted to evaluate the associations between forms of childhood maltreatment and parental mimicry.

RESULTS

A history of physical abuse predicted increased expressions of anger, while physical neglect was linked to reduced anger but heightened disgust. Emotional and sexual abuse were associated with diminished mimicry of sadness, whereas emotional neglect predicted enhanced sadness mimicry.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that childhood maltreatment alters parents' facial reactions to children's emotional facial expressions, potentially impacting parental sensitivity.