Study Shows Babies Maintain Social Skills Despite Traumatic Backgrounds

A remarkable new study conducted by researchers from Uppsala University, along with collaborators from Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Bhutan, reveals that infants continue to follow social cues regardless of traumatic life experiences or insecure living conditions. Over 800 children participated in this extensive research, making it one of the largest studies using eye movement tracking to assess early social development.

The researchers were initially surprised by the findings. Conventional wisdom and prior research suggest that early childhood development is highly vulnerable to adverse conditions such as family trauma, poverty, hunger, war, and parental depression. However, the study indicates that many core social skills, like gaze following—a fundamental aspect of social interaction—remain intact even in children facing significant adversity.

To understand the background of each child, parents were interviewed about their experiences with trauma and their emotional well-being. These insights served as indicators of the child's environment and the family's resources. Despite varied levels of stress and hardship, all participating children demonstrated a strong ability to follow social cues, suggesting an innate resilience in early social cognition.

The study utilized eye-tracking technology, filming children's eye movements as they observed social stimuli. By analyzing where and how long children fixated on specific cues, researchers assessed their interest and engagement in social attention processes. Such measurements help gauge the child's ability to read social signals and share attention, critical skills for social development.

The findings hold significant implications. They suggest that early childhood offers a window of opportunity for learning and development for all children, even those in insecure or traumatized environments. This resilience offers hope and emphasizes the importance of nurturing social skills from a young age across diverse settings.

Published in Psychological Science, this research underscores the innate capacities present in infants worldwide, regardless of external hardships, and highlights the potential for positive development despite adversity.