Children with strict parents become emotionally distant, research shows

CHILDREN who have strict parents learn to avoid eye contact making them emotionally distant, a study has warned.

They pay less attention to emotional facial expressions when they interact with others for fear of being told off and punished, meaning they miss vital social clues.

And those exposed to high levels of criticism from their parents struggle more with relationships and are more at risk of depression and anxiety as a result.

Graduate student of psychology Kiera James, at Binghamton University, State University at New York, said: “These findings suggest that children with a critical parent might avoid paying attention to faces expressing any type of emotion.

“This behaviour might affect their relationships with others and could be one reason why children exposed to high levels of criticism are at risk for things like depression and anxiety.

“We know from previous research that people have a tendency to avoid things that make them uncomfortable, anxious, or sad because such feelings are aversive.

“We also know that children with a critical parent are more likely to use avoidant coping strategies when they are in distress than children without a critical parent.”

The researchers said they wanted to examine how exposure to parental criticism impacts the way that children process and pay attention to facial expressions of emotion.