Is the Association Between Emotion Recognition and Social Functioning Mediated by Cognitive Empathy and Emotional Language? An Examination of School-Aged Autistic Children

IF 5.6 2区 医学 Q1 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Autism Research Pub Date : 2025-07-17 DOI:10.1002/aur.70082
Ifat Bar, Sigal Eden, Ofer Golan
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face substantial challenges in understanding emotions, including difficulty in recognizing emotions through nonverbal cues, interpreting others' affective and mental states, and developing emotional vocabulary. Research suggests that the association between emotion recognition and social functioning is mediated by emotional language and cognitive empathy. However, this relationship remains underexplored in autistic children. Addressing this gap was the primary goal of this study, which comprised 116 autistic children (17 females), aged 7–10 (M = 8.26, SD = 0.76). Participants completed a comprehensive assessment battery, comprising multi-modal emotion recognition, cognitive empathy, and emotional language tasks. Social functioning was evaluated through naturalistic observations during free play, supplemented by a parent-reported standardized measure. Path analysis results revealed that after controlling for age, cognitive abilities, and autism severity, the relationship between emotion recognition and social functioning was mediated by cognitive empathy. Additionally, emotional language emerged as a contributing factor, enhancing cognitive empathy and further supporting its role in social functioning. These findings present an indirect path between emotion recognition and social functioning through emotional language and cognitive empathy, highlighting the importance of targeting these components in interventions aimed at promoting social communication and adaptive social skills in autistic children.

Abstract Image

认知共情和情绪语言是否介导情绪识别与社会功能的关系?学龄自闭症儿童的检查。
患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的儿童在理解情绪方面面临着巨大的挑战,包括通过非语言线索识别情绪、理解他人的情感和精神状态以及发展情感词汇方面的困难。研究表明情绪识别与社会功能之间的关系是由情绪语言和认知共情介导的。然而,这种关系在自闭症儿童中仍未得到充分研究。解决这一差距是本研究的主要目标,该研究包括116名7-10岁的自闭症儿童(17名女性)(M = 8.26, SD = 0.76)。参与者完成了一组综合评估,包括多模态情绪识别、认知同理心和情绪语言任务。通过自由玩耍时的自然观察来评估社会功能,并辅以家长报告的标准化测量。通径分析结果显示,在控制了年龄、认知能力和自闭症严重程度后,情绪识别与社会功能之间的关系被认知共情介导。此外,情绪语言作为一个促成因素出现,增强认知共情并进一步支持其在社会功能中的作用。这些发现通过情感语言和认知共情提供了情感识别和社会功能之间的间接途径,强调了在旨在促进自闭症儿童社会沟通和适应性社会技能的干预措施中针对这些成分的重要性。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Autism Research
Autism Research 医学-行为科学
CiteScore
8.00
自引率
8.50%
发文量
187
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: AUTISM RESEARCH will cover the developmental disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (or autism spectrum disorders – ASDs). The Journal focuses on basic genetic, neurobiological and psychological mechanisms and how these influence developmental processes in ASDs.
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