Impaired Social Attention and Cognitive Empathy in a Paediatric Sample of Children with Symptoms of Anxiety.

ABSTRACT: Impairments in social cognition, in particular empathy, have been associated with childhood psychopathology, though previous investigations have yielded inconsistent results. Measures of social attention can reveal processes involved in responses to emotional stimuli and highlight deficits in empathy, or emotional biases in those with anxiety. The current study examined symptoms of anxiety, cognitive and affective empathy scores, and eye-gaze patterns in a pediatric sample of children (n = 178; 51-98 months-old) referred by their teachers for emerging psychopathology symptoms at school. We used eye-tracking metrics to capture gaze patterns during a dynamic video task designed to elicit empathic responses. Anxiety symptomology was reported by parents using the Screen for Child Anxiety Relat

SUBMITTER: Eaton S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11624222 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature