Objective

There is a prevailing notion that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit intense negative and attenuated positive emotions, although the empirical evidence regarding their emotional expressiveness (EE) is limited. Given the importance of emotions in shaping social and cognitive development, we examined intensity and valence of EE and links between EE and autism severity and parent-reported temperament in ASD.

Method

Toddlers (aged 21.2 months) with ASD (n = 43), developmental delay (DD, n = 16), and typical development (TD, n = 40) underwent standardized probes designed to induce anger, joy, and fear. Intensity of EE through facial and vocal channels were coded offline. Autism severity and temperament were quantified using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule–2 (ADOS-2) and Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ).

Results

The ASD group exhibited less intense fear compared to both the DD and TD groups, more intense anger than DD but not TD, with no differences in joy intensity. All groups showed similar levels of incongruous negative EE. Intensity of fear and anger were not associated with severity of autism symptoms, but lower intensity of joy was related to greater autism severity. Expressed fear and joy were associated with temperament.

Conclusion

The study provides no support for a negative emotionality bias in ASD. Instead, toddlers with ASD display a muted response to threat and an accentuated response to goal blockage, whereas the ability to express positive emotions appears intact. Negative emotionality and social disability dimensions are independent. The study demonstrates the complexity of EE in ASD and motivates investigations into underlying mechanisms as well as its role in shaping complex phenotypes of affected children.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍幼儿的情感表现力

客观的

尽管自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童的情绪表达能力（EE）的经验证据有限，但普遍存在这样的观念：自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童表现出强烈的负面情绪和减弱的正面情绪。鉴于情绪在塑造社会和认知发展中的重要性，我们研究了EE的强度和效价以及EE与自闭症严重程度和ASD中父母报告的气质之间的联系。

方法

患有ASD（n = 43），发育迟缓（DD，n = 16）和典型发育（TD，n = 40）的幼儿（年龄21.2个月）接受了旨在引起愤怒，喜悦和恐惧的标准化探查。EE通过面部和声音通道的强度被离线编码。自闭症的严重程度和性情使用《自闭症诊断观察时间表-2》（ADOS-2）和《儿童早期行为调查表》（ECBQ）进行量化。

结果

与DD和TD组相比，ASD组表现出的恐惧较少，与DD组相比，愤怒更为强烈，但TD组则没有，并且喜悦强度没有差异。所有组均显示相似水平的阴性EE。恐惧和愤怒的强度与自闭症症状的严重程度无关，但较低的喜悦强度与自闭症的严重程度有关。表达的恐惧和喜悦与气质有关。

结论

这项研究不支持ASD的负面情绪偏见。取而代之的是，患有ASD的幼儿对威胁的反应较弱，对目标阻拦的反应较重，而表达积极情绪的能力则完好无损。负面情绪和社会残疾维度是独立的。该研究证明了EE在ASD中的复杂性，并激发了对潜在机制及其在影响患儿复杂表型形成中的作用的研究。