Attentional processes in response to emotional facial expressions in adults with retrospectively reported peer victimization of varying severity: Results from an ERP dot-probe study

TL;DR

This study shows that adults who experienced childhood peer victimization show altered brain responses when viewing emotional facial expressions, especially anger and disgust.

Contribution

The study provides new evidence that peer victimization in childhood affects adult neurophysiological attentional responses to emotional faces.

Findings

Higher peer victimization was linked to increased P200 amplitudes in response to angry and disgusted faces.

No significant effects were found on reaction times or P100 amplitudes.

Results suggest that victimization experiences influence attentional resource allocation to negative social stimuli in adulthood.

Abstract

Attentional processes are influenced by both stimulus characteristics and individual factors such as mood or personal experience. Research has suggested that attentional biases to socially relevant stimuli may occur in individuals with a history of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence. Based on this, the present study aimed to examine attentional processes in response to emotional faces at both the behavioral and neurophysiological levels in participants with experiences of peer victimization.

In a sample of 60 adult participants with varying severity of retrospectively reported peer victimization in childhood and adolescence, the dot-probe task was administered with angry, disgusted, sad, and happy facial expressions. In addition to behavioral responses, physiological responses (i.e., event-related potentials) were analyzed.

Analyses of mean P100 and P200 amplitudes revealed altered P200 amplitudes in individuals with higher degrees of peer victimization. Higher levels of relational peer victimization were associated with increased P200 amplitudes in response to facial expressions, particularly angry and disgusted facial expressions. Hierarchical regression analyses showed no evidence for an influence of peer victimization experiences on reaction times or P100 amplitudes in response to the different emotions.

Cortical findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of peer victimization mobilize more attentional resources when confronted with negative emotional social stimuli. Peer victimization experiences in childhood and adolescence appear to influence cortical processes into adulthood.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-024-01958-5.

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