Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2025
Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
Assessing Visual Avoidance of Faces During Real-Life Social Stress in Children with Social Anxiety Disorder: A Mobile
Leonie Rabea Lidle1,2, Julian Schmitz3,4
1Department for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Neumarkt 9-19, 04109, Leipzig, Germany. Leonie_Rabea.Lidle@uni-leipzig.de.
Abstract:
This study measured visual attention (fixation count, dwell time) during two real-life social stress tasks using mobile eye-tracking glasses in children (9-13 years) diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 25) and a healthy control group (HC; n = 30). The influence of state anxiety on attention allocation and negative self-evaluation biases regarding gaze behavior were also examined. Compared to the HC group, children with SAD showed visual avoidance (i.e., fewer fixations) of the faces of interaction partners during the second social stress task. While visual avoidance in HC children decreased with declining state anxiety from the first to the second social stress task, no such effect was found in children with SAD. A negative self-evaluation bias regarding gaze behavior in children with SAD was not found. In sum, measuring visual attention during real-life social situations may help enhance our understanding of social attention in childhood SAD.
