Parent-Child Interaction Quality and Empathy in Toddlers At Risk for An ASD

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have difficulty empathizing with others. These empathy deficits are apparent as early as 12 months of age and predict later ASD diagnosis and symptom severity (Hutman et al., 2010; McDonald & Messinger, 2011). In typically developing children, affective synchrony, and parental responsivity and warmth in early parent-child interactions, contribute to differences in empathy development (e.g., Feldman, 2007; Kochanska et al., 1999). However, little is known about the relation between early parent-child interactions and later empathic responding in children at-risk for an ASD.

Objectives: To investigate the influence of early parent-child interaction quality on individual differences in empathic responding in children at-risk for an ASD.

Methods: Participants were 66 children at high-risk for an ASD who had an older sibling with a confirmed ASD diagnosis. Parent-child interaction was measured during free play sessions at 15 and 18 months of age. Interactive behaviors were reliably rated using the following ratings from the NICHD ECCRN scales: Emotional Supportiveness (mean of the Parent Sensitivity, Respect for Autonomy, and Positive Regard ratings; Scale: 1-7) and Affective Mutuality, a dyadic code (Scale: 1-7). Means of the 15- and 18-month ratings were calculated for analyses. Empathic responding was measured by examining children’s responses to their parents’ distress at 24 and 30 months. Children were reliably rated on the quality of their empathic responding (Global Empathy; Scale: 1-7; Young et al., 1999).

Results: In linear regression analyses, 15- & 18-month Emotional Supportiveness predicted 24-month Global Empathy, F(1,55)=3.56, p=.06, R²=.06, at a marginally significant level, but did not predict 30-month Global Empathy, F(1,47)=1.59, ns. Parents who displayed higher levels of responsivity, warmth, and respect for their child’s autonomy at the 15 and 18 months tended to have children who displayed higher levels of empathic responding at 24 months, but not at 30 months. Additionally, 15- & 18-month Affective Mutuality predicted 24-month Global Empathy, F(1,55)=5.26, p<.05, R²=.09, as well as 30-month Global Empathy, F(1,47)=3.81, p=.06, R²=.07, at a marginally significant level. In dyads characterized by high levels of synchrony and mutuality of emotions, children had higher levels of empathic responding at 24 months, and tended to have higher levels at 30 months.

Conclusions: This is the first known study to examine the relation between indices of early parent-child interaction quality and later empathic responding in children at-risk for an ASD. Consistent with research on typically developing children, children of dyads characterized by high levels of affective synchrony during interactions in the second year of life displayed more empathy at 24 months of age. Parental emotional supportiveness alone was not significantly associated with child empathy. This suggests that the child’s role in early interactions is central to the later development of empathic behaviors. Overall, the quality of early parent-child interactions appears to be important for social outcomes in high-risk siblings. Future goals include investigating genetic and other possible contributors to empathy variation in children at-risk for an ASD.