ArticleJournal of autism and developmental disorders2025
Valence and Intensity of Emotional Expression in Autistic and Non-Autistic Toddlers.
Article in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Facial expressions and emotional experience during social interaction in autism and schizophrenia.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Review and Developmental Model: Early Childhood Emotion Regulation and Co-Regulation in Autism.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026Review
- The mediating role of emotional regulation and emotional expression in the relationship between autistic traits and empathy in Saudi students.International journal of developmental disabilities · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
purposeDifferences in emotional experience and expression have long been recognized as common in the presentation of autism, yet research examining emotional expression in early childhood is limited, with mixed findings. Understanding emotional reactivity and expression in autism in early life is an essential step towards uncovering the mechanisms of these risks and identifying targets for intervention.
methodsThe present study examined emotional expression in autistic (N = 17) and non-autistic (N = 20) toddlers (mean age = 25.27; SD = 1.88) during emotion elicitation tasks aimed at eliciting joy, frustration, and unease. Video recorded tasks were coded in ten second intervals for emotional valence and intensity, and the following variables were computed: proportion of time in positive, neutral, and negative affect; maximum intensity of positive and negative affect; and range of affect (i.e., most negative to most positive intensity).
resultsAutistic toddlers spent more time in neutral facial expressions, less time displaying positive affect, and had somewhat less intense positive emotional expression than non-autistic peers. Small differences were apparent in intensity of negative affect expression, while no differences emerged in duration of time spent in negative affect.
conclusionFindings emphasize that differences may be more apparent in duration, rather than intensity of emotional expression, and that it may be particularly important to examine periods of "neutral" affect in young autistic children. Future research should consider the best ways to understand emotional reactivity in this population considering their unique interests, challenges, and communication styles.
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