What is it about?
Aggressive reactions in children often seem sudden, but they are linked to how children notice and interpret signs of anger in other people. In this study, parents and their children viewed pictures of angry faces while an eye-tracking camera measured where their eyes focused. We found that children who paid extra attention to angry eyes were more likely to react aggressively in real life, but only if their parents did not pay much attention to anger themselves. When parents also paid attention to angry eyes, children showed better regulation. We also discovered that children who are less socially connected were at higher risk for aggression when their parents were very emotionally sensitive. Overall, the findings suggest that emotional communication between parents and children matters. Helping families read emotional signals together may reduce aggressive behavior early in life.
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Why is it important?
Aggression in childhood is often treated only after problems appear. Our study shows that early warning signs can be detected in the way children and parents visually pay attention to anger in faces. This is one of the first studies to show that mismatched emotional attention between parents and children can increase the likelihood of reactive aggression. This finding matters because most research focuses only on the child, while our results show the importance of the parent–child relationship and shared emotional communication. By identifying a specific pattern that may lead to aggression, the study opens the door to new prevention strategies that help parents and children respond to emotions together. These insights can inform schools, clinicians, and family programs aimed at reducing aggression and supporting healthier family interactions early in life.
Perspectives
As researchers working in child development, we often meet families who are trying to understand why some children react so strongly to emotional situations. This study was meaningful to us because it shows that children do not process emotions in isolation, their emotional world is shaped within the relationship they share with their parents. What stood out most was that something as subtle as where a parent looks on a face can influence how a child responds. For us, this reinforces the idea that science should not only identify difficulties, but also offer practical insights that families can use in everyday life. We hope this work encourages more research on emotional communication in families, and helps parents, educators, and clinicians see that change does not always require major interventions, sometimes, paying attention together is a powerful first step.
Dr. Antonios I. Christou
University of Thessaly
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Child–parent covariation on the processing of angry facial stimuli predicts children’s reactive aggression., Psychology of Violence, November 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/vio0000659.
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