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20 maltreated and 20 nonmaltreated children (ages = 3-7 years) and their mothers were observedduring a laboratory play session and 7 home observation visits. Ss facial behavior was video recordedin the lab and coded live by observers in the home. Children also participated in an emotionalexpressionrecognition task. Data analysis showed that both maltreatment status and mothers' facialbehavior were predictors of children's recognition scores. Positive relationships were also found betweenmothers' and children's expressive behavior. Although maltreated and nonmaltreated childrendiffered significantly in their recognition of emotional facial expressions, group differences were notfound for either mothers' or children's expressive behavior. Overall, this study's findings indicatethat children's recognition and production of facial expressions depends in part on the expressiveenvironment provided by their mothers.
Camras et al. (Thu,) studied this question.