Suicidal thoughts and behavior can begin early in childhood and are a leading cause of death in youth. Although specific mechanisms of risk remain largely unknown, theorists and researchers highlight the importance of the parent–child relationship. The current study focused on one aspect of this relationship: the dynamic exchange of facial affect during interactions. Specifically, we examined the relation between children's history of suicidal ideation (SI) and synchrony of facial expressions during positive and negative mother–child interactions.
Participants were 353 mother–child dyads. Of these, 44 dyads included a child with an SI history. Dyads engaged in positive and negative discussions during which their facial electromyography was recorded from mothers and children to index second‐to‐second changes in positive (zygomaticus) and negative (corrugator) facial affect.
Child SI dyads were characterized specifically by reduced synchrony of positive facial affect during the positive discussion compared to dyads without child SI.
These findings suggest child SI dyads exhibit reduced synchrony of normative positive expressions during mother–child interactions. If replicated and extended in longitudinal research, these results may help to explain one mechanism of risk among children with SI.
