Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2021 Jan;62(1):40-47. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13231. Epub 2020 Mar 10.
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.
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.
Child SI dyads were characterized specifically by reduced synchrony of positive facial affect during the positive discussion compared to dyads without child SI.
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.
自杀念头和行为可能早在儿童期就开始出现，是青少年死亡的主要原因。尽管具体的风险机制在很大程度上仍不清楚，但理论家们和研究人员强调了亲子关系的重要性。本研究关注的是这种关系的一个方面：互动过程中面部表情的动态交流。具体来说，我们研究了儿童自杀意念史与积极和消极的母子互动中面部表情同步性之间的关系。
参与者是 353 对母子对。其中，44 对母子对中有一个孩子有自杀意念史。母子对在积极和消极的讨论中参与，记录母亲和孩子的面部肌电图，以反映积极（颧肌）和消极（皱眉肌）面部表情的每秒钟变化。
儿童有自杀意念史的母子对在积极讨论中表现出积极面部表情的同步性降低，与没有儿童自杀意念史的母子对相比。
这些发现表明，儿童有自杀意念史的母子对在母子互动中表现出正常积极表情的同步性降低。如果在纵向研究中得到复制和扩展，这些结果可能有助于解释具有自杀意念的儿童的一种风险机制。
