Summary
Symptoms and causes of eye contact challenge. Conditions and precurtion for the paitent
Eye contact is often challenging for children with ADHD, as it can hinder their ability to develop social skills. Understanding others’ emotions and showing empathy can be difficult for individuals with ADHD, making social interactions uncomfortable or awkward. Consequently, they may struggle to engage in eye contact or pick up on social cues. However, it is important to recognize the significance of eye contact in various aspects of life, such as job interviews and romantic relationships. Making eye contact conveys interest and respect, which are crucial for building successful relationships. By maintaining eye contact, you can visually demonstrate that you are actively listening and genuinely interested in what the other person has to say. This shows respect and makes the person feel valued and understood.
Research indicates that the eye region is highly informative in facial communication, and recent studies have highlighted specific difficulties in processing eye gaze in children with ADHD. For instance, these children often struggle to focus on others’ eyes when recognizing emotions and fail to utilize gaze direction to guide their own attention. As a result, intervention programs for ADHD emphasise the importance of increasing sustained eye contact as a means to improve compliance.
The eye region plays a significant role in learning and the development of social cognition, which may have implications for the progression of ADHD. However, there is currently a lack of longitudinal studies investigating how visual attention to the eyes predicts ADHD symptoms over time. Notably, altered face perception, including reduced attention to faces in the presence of non-social stimuli, diminished eye contact, and difficulties in understanding information conveyed through the eyes, is a shared characteristic observed in both ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The eye region holds crucial social cues, and the impaired processing of eye gaze in ADHD may have implications for the developmental trajectory of the disorder. Nonetheless, further longitudinal research is needed to explore the role of visual attention to the eyes as a predictor of ADHD symptoms. It is worth noting that similarities exist between ADHD and ASD regarding altered face perception and difficulties related to the eye region.
The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between attention to others’ eyes and core symptoms of ADHD, as well as comorbid externalizing (ODD/CD) oppositional defiant disorder and internalising (generalised anxiety) symptoms. The findings revealed that a longer latency to shift attention away from the eyes, when directed to the eye region, was associated with higher levels of inattentive symptoms. This association was observed both concurrently and at a two-year follow-up, even after controlling for other symptom domains. Notably, this association was primarily evident when observing emotional (angry and happy) faces, rather than neutral faces, and was driven by a tendency to fixate on the eye region of angry faces. Additionally, delayed reorientation from eyes was linked to concurrent hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. However, the latency to orient towards the eyes when directed to the mouth was unrelated to symptom levels, indicating that the findings were specific to attention to the eyes and not a general impairment in orienting speed. Importantly, attention to the eyes did not exacerbate symptoms over time.
In this study, the aim was to investigate the underlying factors contributing to impaired social interactions in children with ADHD. The researchers examined the relationship between attention to others’ eyes and symptoms of core ADHD, as well as comorbid externalizing and internalising symptoms. The main findings revealed that a longer duration of looking at the eye region before reorienting was independently associated with concurrent and longitudinal symptoms of inattention.
In conclusion, the association between attention to others’ eyes and symptoms of ADHD, as well as comorbid externalizing and internalizing symptoms in children. This article demonstrates that a longer duration of looking at the eye region before reorienting is independently linked to concurrent and longitudinal symptoms of inattention, even after accounting for other symptom domains. Moreover, this prolonged gaze duration is associated with inattention and externalising symptoms two years later. These results suggest that there are alterations in the temporal dynamics of attention to others’ eyes in children with ADHD, which may contribute to their social impairments. The importance of considering social attention as a potential factor underlying social interaction difficulties in ADHD and highlights the need for further research to explore the implications of these findings for intervention and treatment strategies.
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