Reported History of Childhood Abuse and Young Adults' Information-Processing Biases for Facial Displays of Emotion

• NCJ Number: 226864
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2009 Pages: 148-156
• Author(s): Brandon E. Gibb; Casey A. Schofield; Meredith E. Coles
• Date Published: May 2009
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): HD048664
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The goal of this study was to examine the relation between reports of childhood abuse and the presence of attention and interpretation biases for facial displays of emotion among young adults.

Abstract

Results indicate that a self-reported history of childhood abuse was related to the presence of both attention and interpretation biases for angry faces among young adults. Specifically, young adults reporting a history of moderate to severe childhood abuse preferentially allocated their attention to angry, but not happy or sad faces. These individuals also exhibited increased sensitivity in the detection of angry expressions at lower levels of emotional intensity. These results were potentially the first to examine the link between young adults’ reported histories of childhood abuse and the presence of attention and interpretation biases for facial displays of emotion. Research has shown that faces convey a wealth of information for guiding social interactions and are central to these interactions. The primary goal of this study was to replicate and extend previous findings suggesting a relation between childhood abuse and information-processing biases for facial displays of emotion. It was predicted that attention and interpretation biases would be specific to angry rather than sad or happy faces. Study participants consisted of 217 undergraduates from a psychology class. Tables, figures, notes, and references