Attentional avoidance of fearful facial expressions following early life stress is associated with impaired social functioning.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early life stress is associated with poorer social functioning. Attentional biases in response to threat-related cues, linked to both early experience and psychopathology, may explain this association. To date, however, no study has examined attentional biases to fearful facial expressions as a function of early life stress or examined these biases as a potential mediator of the relation between early life stress and social problems.

Methods

In a sample of 154 children (ages 9-13 years) we examined the associations among interpersonal early life stressors (i.e., birth through age 6 years), attentional biases to emotional facial expressions using a dot-probe task, and social functioning on the Child Behavior Checklist.

Results

High levels of early life stres

SUBMITTER: Humphreys KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5030156 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature