Facial expressions of emotion and physiologic reactions in children with bronchial asthma.

Eighteen children with bronchial asthma (ages 7.5 to 12) and 18 control children were exposed to a pleasant comic film and a stress-inducing achievement task. Facial expressions of emotion and heart rate (HR) were recorded, and pre- and posttest forced expiratory volume at 1 sec (FEV1) were assessed. The asthmatic children showed significantly fewer expressions of emotion than the control subjects in the stress-inducing but not in the joy-inducing situation. Their FEV1 decreased significantly under both experimental conditions, whereas no significant changes were found in the control group. The asthmatic children's mean HR was significantly higher under both experimental conditions than during the preceding pauses. In the control group, no significant changes in mean HR were found from the pause to the stressful situation; during the comic film, mean HR was significantly lower than during the preceding pause. No significant correlations were found for either group between number of emotions expressed, pre- to posttest changes in FEV1, and changes in mean HR.