Background: The development of the ability to understand others' facial expressions is thought to be dependent on the environment in which one has been reared.
Methods: This study compared the ability to understand others' facial expressions between 15 children who were in an unstable environment, 11 children who had been maltreated before and were in a stable environment, like a foster family, and 33 children who had never been maltreated. We used the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) as measure.
Results: Children who were in an unstable environment scored higher on the RMET than children who had never been maltreated.
Conclusions: The results suggested that hypersensitivity to others' facial expressions might be an adaptive response to a harmful environment and that it might decline when in a stable environment because such sensitivity is no longer needed.
Keywords: RMET; child maltreatment; facial expressions; living environment; social cognition.
© 2023 Japan Pediatric Society.