Emotion- and Region-Specific Gaze Differences in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

OBJECTIVE: This study examined gaze behavior during emotional face processing in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and assessed whether their visual attention patterns differ from those of parents of typically developing children. METHODS: Thirty-five parents of children with ASD and 35 matched parents of typically developing children participated. Using an eyetracking paradigm, we analyzed gaze allocation across 2 key facial regions while processing 4 emotional expressions. RESULTS: The analysis revealed no main effect of parents of children with ASD in gaze metrics, however, the interaction effect results of entry time group×areas of interest group showed parents of children with ASD showed a selective increase in attention to the mouth specifically for threat-related emotional faces (angry and fearful). CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence for an emotion- and region-specific pattern of gaze allocation in parents of children with ASD. These interaction-based findings, characterized by small effect sizes, suggest that gaze differences in parents of children with ASD are specific to certain facial regions and emotional expressions, rather than reflecting a generalized attentional difference. Future research should investigate the underlying mechanisms of these gaze patterns and their implications for real-life social dynamics, including parent-child interactions.