Expressed emotion and airway conductance in children with bronchial asthma.
Fourteen asthmatic children (ages 9-11) and their controls were exposed to a stress inducing competitive achievement situation. Facial expression of emotions were systematically analyzed from video-recordings, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) reduction was measured from pre-stress to post-stress. The asthmatic children showed a significantly lower frequency and duration of overall emotional expression than their controls. Specifically, the frequency and duration of expressed anger/rage, enjoyment/joy, and surprise/startle were lower in the asthmatic children. Moreover, duration of overall expressed emotion showed a significant negative correlation with PEFR reduction in the asthmatic group, indicating a relevant relationship between facial expression of emotions and breathing function.
D000403:Airway Resistance; D000786:Anger; D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D011889:Rage