Facial Mimicry in 6–7 Year Old Children with Disruptive Behavior Disorder and ADHD

BACKGROUND Impairments in facial mimicry are considered a proxy for deficits in affective empathy and have been demonstrated in 10 year old children and in adolescents with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD). However, it is not known whether these impairments are already present at an earlier age. Emotional deficits have also been shown in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). AIMS To examine facial mimicry in younger, 6-7 year old children with DBD and with ADHD. METHODS Electromyographic (EMG) activity in response to emotional facial expressions was recorded in 47 children with DBD, 18 children with ADHD and 35 healthy developing children. RESULTS All groups displayed significant facial mimicry to the emotional expressions of other children. No group differences between children with DBD, children with ADHD and healthy developing children were found. In addition, no differences in facial mimicry were found between the clinical group (i.e., all children with a diagnosis) and the typically developing group in an analysis with ADHD symptoms as a covariate, and no differences were found between the clinical children and the typically developing children with DBD symptoms as a covariate. CONCLUSION Facial mimicry in children with DBD and ADHD throughout the first primary school years was unimpaired, in line with studies on empathy using other paradigms.