22793
Using Facial Expression Analysis Software to Examine the Relationship Between Abnormal Facial Expressions and Alexithymia in Children with and without Autism
Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine associations between nonverbal expression and alexithymia in children with and without ASD.
Methods: Participants (see Table 1) viewed images and videos extracted from YouTube and Google Images designed to evoke various emotional responses, while being covertly recorded with a webcam. The stimuli were collated into a 15-minute .mp4 video file. Participants were instructed to sit still and watch carefully for the entire video. Subsequently, webcam recordings were analyzed using iMotion’s Emotient software (ImotionsGlobal, 2015), which estimates which emotions are being expressed based on Ekman et al.’s (2002) facial action coding system (FACS). In cases where the entire 15-minute recording was not usable (e.g., due to participant distraction), “inattention time” was partialed out. Concurrently, parents completed the parent-report Children’s Alexithymia Measure (CAM; Way et al., 2010), with higher scores on the CAM reflecting stronger alexithymic traits.
Results: A significant negative correlation was observed between CAM scores and expression of contempt, r(32) = -.351, p = .021, as well as an aggregate of all negative emotions (including sadness, contempt, disgust, anger and fear), r(31) = -.336, p = .028). In addition, higher CAM scores were associated with higher rates of neutral expression r(32), = .341, p = .024. Thus, children with stronger alexithymic traits produced weaker negative expressions and were more expressively neutral than children with weaker alexithymic traits.
Conclusions: This study is the first to show that less salient facial expressions are associated with higher levels of alexithymia in children with and without ASD, consistent with Buck and Power’s (2013) hypothesis. These results support the possibility that blunted or confusing emotional expression may contribute to the high rates of alexithymia in the ASD population, although causation cannot be inferred from this study’s design. Future research should use more ecologically valid stimuli, longitudinal designs, and examine facial expressions during interactions between children and caregivers to gain a clearer understanding of how abnormal facial expressions may contribute to the development of alexithymia.