Abstract
Child maltreatment (CM) is a major risk factor for various psychopathologies but also adversely affects social development. Research on oxytocin (OT) is currently drawing attention as an endocrine basis for social development. In this study, we investigated the relationship between visual attention to social cues and salivary OT levels in children exposed to CM. The results revealed that the CM group had a significantly lower percentage of gaze fixation for the human face eye area and lower salivary OT levels compared to the typical development group. Moreover, a path analysis suggested that gaze fixation for the eye area was a mediator of the relationship between salivary OT levels and social-emotional problems in the CM group. These results suggest that lower endogenous OT levels in maltreated children may lead to atypical development of their visual attention to eyes as a social cue, resulting in social-emotional problems.
Highlights
Child maltreatment (CM) includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect, such as an inadequate caregiving environment or feeding, and is defined as “any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child”[1]
When the differences between the groups were examined for the mean levels of the psychological and behavioral adaptation using the t-test, the CM group had significantly higher levels of adverse childhood experiences, social-emotional problems, and psychiatric symptoms compared to the TD group (ACE: t(48) = 12.92, p < 0.001; Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): t (48) = 3.49, p < 0.001; Checklist for Maltreated Infant (CMTI): t(48) = 5.75, p < 0.001)[27,28,29]
We investigated the relationship between visual attention to social cues and salivary OT levels in children with CM and TD
Summary
Child maltreatment (CM) includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect, such as an inadequate caregiving environment or feeding, and is defined as “any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child”[1]. Children with a history of CM were found to have significantly poorer skills in social interactions with peers and maintaining self-control, as well as various behavioral problems[3,4] These deficits in social development domains resulting from CM have been shown to cause secondary problems, such as reduced self-esteem and depressive symptoms[5], which can adversely affect academic performance[6]. Previous research has used eye-tracking technology to investigate visual attention patterns for early detection of atypical social development during childhood[7,8]. Previous human studies have suggested that OT administration facilitates sociability, such as inferring the mental state of others from viewing their eye region[20,21], and that endogenous OT has a significant role in visual attention development to social cues during childhood[22]. Previous studies have reported that women with a history of CM have lower OT concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid, and children who have experienced CM and lack attachment formation with a primary caregiver have atypical OT secretion patterns[13,14,15]
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