Citation

James KM, Kudinova AY, Woody ML, Feurer C, Foster CE, Gibb BE. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jcpp.13231

PMID

32157696

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Suicidal thoughts and behavior can begin early in childhood and are a leading cause of death in youth. Although specific mechanisms of risk remain largely unknown, theorists and researchers highlight the importance of the parent-child relationship. The current study focused on one aspect of this relationship: the dynamic exchange of facial affect during interactions. Specifically, we examined the relation between children's history of suicidal ideation (SI) and synchrony of facial expressions during positive and negative mother-child interactions.

METHODS: Participants were 353 mother-child dyads. Of these, 44 dyads included a child with an SI history. Dyads engaged in positive and negative discussions during which their facial electromyography was recorded from mothers and children to index second-to-second changes in positive (zygomaticus) and negative (corrugator) facial affect.

RESULTS: Child SI dyads were characterized specifically by reduced synchrony of positive facial affect during the positive discussion compared to dyads without child SI.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest child SI dyads exhibit reduced synchrony of normative positive expressions during mother-child interactions. If replicated and extended in longitudinal research, these results may help to explain one mechanism of risk among children with SI.

© 2020 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Language: en

Keywords

Facial expression; parent-child interaction; parent-child relationships; suicide