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Response to Distress Varies by Social Impairment and Familiarity in Infants at Risk for Autism

Alexandra C Dowd1, Kassandra Martinez2, Bridget C Davidson3

  • 1Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd St., Stop E9000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. alexandradowd@utexas.edu.

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|June 23, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Early social impairment affects infant responses to distress. Familiarity also plays a role, with infants showing more attention to unfamiliar people and more emotion toward familiar ones.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Neuroscience
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research

Background:

  • Early social-emotional development is crucial for later functioning.
  • Impaired responses to distress can signal social difficulties.
  • Understanding factors influencing these responses can aid early intervention for conditions like ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between social impairment and infant responses to partner distress.
  • To examine the influence of partner familiarity on infant distress responses.
  • To identify key factors affecting early social engagement with distressed partners.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed infants (12 and 15 months) with and without older siblings with ASD.
  • Measured social impairment markers and infant responses to simulated maternal and experimenter distress.
  • Analyzed attention and affective responses in relation to social impairment and familiarity.

Main Results:

  • Greater social impairment correlated with reduced attention and affect at 15 months, but not 12 months.
  • Infants showed increased attention toward unfamiliar experimenters versus mothers.
  • Infants displayed greater affective responses toward familiar mothers compared to unfamiliar experimenters at 12 months.

Conclusions:

  • Social impairment and partner familiarity independently influence infant responses to distress.
  • These findings highlight the complex interplay of individual differences and relational context in early social-emotional development.
  • Results may inform targeted assessments and interventions for infants at risk for social developmental challenges.

Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorderEmpathyFamiliarityResponse to distressSocial impairmentSocial spectrum

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