Adolescents suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and conduct disorder can misinterpret a facial expression if a new study is to be believed.
The research reveals that teens who suffer from these syndromes tend to misconstrue expressions. Teens with conduct disorder reportedly misidentify a sad face as angry, whereas those with PSTD interpret an unhappy and angry face as fearful.
The study has been conducted at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. It was led by Shabnam Javdani, assistant professor of applied psychology at the university.
"Our findings suggest that exposure to stress and trauma can have acute emotional impacts that simply translate to misidentification of important affective cues," shared Javdani.
What Does The Study Reveal
The research reveals that adolescents who have undergone a traumatic experience have a higher chance of suffering from conduct disorder, as well as PTSD. These emotional and behavioral issue are defined by characteristics such as an aggression or insensitivity towards other people.
The study shares that these maladies can often occur simultaneously and are instrumental in impacting not only the healthy development of the teen, but also their well-being.
Researchers further assert that if these disorders are left untreated then they may lead to mental health problems when the teen grows up. Not only will the person inflict harm on themselves as a result of the behavioral and emotional disorders, but also on other people.
The reduced ability of recognizing facial expressions correctly is associated with trauma. The ability to correctly identify a facial expression is pivotal for any interpersonal communications by human beings. The inability to identify the facial expression of a person correctly, may hamper the communication process, which will in turn propel aggressive behavior.
This finding is validated by previous research as well, which asserts that teens who have conduct disorder and PTSD, are unable to process emotions well and this is linked with hostile bevaior and poor social functioning.
Statistics Supportive Of Study
For the purpose of the study, the team observed several effects associated with PTSD and also conduct disorder, particularly how the youth affected processed the expressions. The trial observed 371 teens who were aged between 13 to 19 years and suffered from both behavioral and emotional issues. These subjects were attending a therapeutic school.
The researchers found that nearly 85 percent of the subjects suffered from a minimum of a single symptom for conduct disorder. Nearly 30 percent of the participants met the standard for the conduct disorder.
The results revealed that among all the teens tested, 17 percent showed one PTSD symptom and 12.4 percent passed the requirement for PTSD diagnosis. Moreover, 17 percent of the subjects showed signs of both.
The researchers surmised that teens who had behavioral and emotional issues found it more problematic to recognize an irate face, when compared to an unhappy or fearful one. On the other hand, subjects who suffered from symptoms of conduct disorder or just PTSD, the observations were different.
Teens who had more PTSD symptoms were more likely to misconstrue an angry facial expression, when compared to sad or fearful ones. Those who had greater symptoms of PSTD also had higher chances of misinterpreting an angry or sad emotion as fear.
Moreover, youth who had a conduct disorder had a higher probability of misconstruing a sad face. However, these teens did not have any problem in identifying a fearful or angry face.
The findings of the study have been published in the journal Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Photo: Ryan Hyde | Flickr
