Associations between anxious and depressive symptoms and the recognition of vocal socio-emotional expressions in youth

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined the associations between internalizing symptoms and adolescents’ recognition of vocal socio-emotional expressions produced by youth. METHOD: Fifty-seven youth (8–17 years old, M = 12.62, SD = 2.66; 29 anxious, 28 non-anxious; 32 female, 25 male) were asked to identify the intended expression in auditory recordings of youth’s portrayals of basic emotions and social attitudes. RESULTS: Recognition accuracy increased with age, suggesting that the ability to recognize vocal affect continues to develop into adolescence. Anxiety symptoms were not associated with recognition ability, but youth’s depressive symptoms were related to poorer identification of anger and happiness. CONCLUSIONS: Youth experiencing symptoms of depression may be likely to misinterpret vocal expressions of happiness and anger.