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Eaton S, Dorrans EM, van Goozen SHM. Impaired Social Attention and Cognitive Empathy in a Paediatric Sample of Children with Symptoms of Anxiety. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024:10.1007/s10802-024-01240-7. [PMID: 39292383 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-024-01240-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024]
Abstract
Impairments in social cognition, in particular empathy, have been associated with childhood psychopathology, though previous investigations have yielded inconsistent results. Measures of social attention can reveal processes involved in responses to emotional stimuli and highlight deficits in empathy, or emotional biases in those with anxiety. The current study examined symptoms of anxiety, cognitive and affective empathy scores, and eye-gaze patterns in a pediatric sample of children (n = 178; 51-98 months-old) referred by their teachers for emerging psychopathology symptoms at school. We used eye-tracking metrics to capture gaze patterns during a dynamic video task designed to elicit empathic responses. Anxiety symptomology was reported by parents using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders scale (SCARED). Associations between eye-tracking variables, cognitive and affective empathy, and anxiety scores were analysed dimensionally in accordance with the Research and Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. Higher levels of anxiety were associated with lower cognitive empathy and shorter first and total fixation durations to the eyes, across emotions (happiness, sadness, fear). No such associations were found between affective empathy and anxiety. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that across emotion conditions, first fixation duration negatively predicted anxiety scores. Our results indicate that children high in anxiety display cognitive empathy impairments and shorter attention to the eyes. These findings could inform early intervention programs for individuals at risk of developing anxiety disorders, as educating those high in anxiety on ways to identify emotions in others through changes in social attention could help to reduce anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steve Eaton
- Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit (NDAU), Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHDS), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.
| | - Ellie Mae Dorrans
- Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit (NDAU), Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHDS), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Stephanie H M van Goozen
- Neurodevelopment Assessment Unit (NDAU), Centre for Human Developmental Science (CUCHDS), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurodevelopmental Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
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2
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Raymond C, Cernik R, Beaudin M, Arcand M, Pichette F, Marin MF. Maternal attachment security modulates the relationship between vulnerability to anxiety and attentional bias to threat in healthy children. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6025. [PMID: 38472274 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55542-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate whether attentional bias to threat, commonly observed in clinically anxious children, also manifests in healthy children, potentially aiding the early detection of at-risk individuals. Additionally, it sought to explore the moderating role of parent-child attachment security on the association between vulnerability factors (anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, perseverative cognitions) as indicators of vulnerability to anxiety, and attentional bias towards threat in healthy children. A total of 95 children aged 8 to 12 years completed the Visual Search Task to assess attentional bias. Vulnerability to anxiety was measured using a composite score derived from the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children, and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire. Parent-child attachment security was assessed using the Security Scale-Child Self-Report. Analyses revealed that higher vulnerability to anxiety was associated with faster detection of anger-related stimuli compared to neutral ones, and this association was further influenced by high maternal security. These findings in healthy children suggest an interaction between specific factors related to anxiety vulnerability and the security of the mother-child relationship, leading to cognitive patterns resembling those seen in clinically anxious individuals. These results hold promise for early identification of children at risk of developing anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Raymond
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec À Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
- Stress, Trauma, Emotion, Anxiety, and Memory (STEAM) Lab, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada.
| | - Rebecca Cernik
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec À Montréal, Montreal, Canada
- Stress, Trauma, Emotion, Anxiety, and Memory (STEAM) Lab, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
| | - Myriam Beaudin
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec À Montréal, Montreal, Canada
- Stress, Trauma, Emotion, Anxiety, and Memory (STEAM) Lab, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
| | - Maryse Arcand
- Stress, Trauma, Emotion, Anxiety, and Memory (STEAM) Lab, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Florence Pichette
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec À Montréal, Montreal, Canada
- Stress, Trauma, Emotion, Anxiety, and Memory (STEAM) Lab, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
| | - Marie-France Marin
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec À Montréal, Montreal, Canada
- Stress, Trauma, Emotion, Anxiety, and Memory (STEAM) Lab, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, 7331 Hochelaga, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
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Tang P, Pavlopoulou G, Kostyrka-Allchorne K, Phillips-Owen J, Sonuga-Barke E. Links between mental health problems and future thinking from the perspective of adolescents with experience of depression and anxiety: a qualitative study. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2023; 17:143. [PMID: 38129889 PMCID: PMC10740287 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-023-00679-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety are common during adolescence and could have detrimental impacts on young people's ability to make and implement plans for their future. However, to the best of our knowledge, no other study has adopted a qualitative approach in investigating these effects from the perspective of adolescents with lived experiences of depression and anxiety. We sought to understand how young people perceive and interpret the impact of mental health conditions on their thinking about the future. METHODS We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 adolescents aged 16-19 years in the UK (median age = 19, IQR = 1.5), who had a history of protracted periods of clinical or subclinical depression and/or anxiety. They were asked to reflect on how their ability to think about the future and the content of the future-related thinking was impacted during periods of poor mental health, compared with periods of feeling well. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to thematic content analysis. RESULTS Five domains were identified. First, the impact of mood on future thinking capability focuses on reduced ability and motivation to engage in future thinking. Second, the impact of mood on images, thoughts, and feelings about the future includes the emotional valence of future-related thoughts, their vividness, structure, and the extent to which they intimated subjective feelings of control (i.e., agency). Third, social influences focuses on social factors that might ameliorate or exacerbate future thinking. Fourth, reflections on personal worries and expectations about the future captures personal interpretations of past worries and hopes and how future thinking affected mood. Finally, personal coping refers to how young people cope with the negative emotions that come with future thinking. CONCLUSIONS This study provided a nuanced and granular account of how depression and anxiety impacted young people's future thinking based on their lived experiences. By highlighting the different ways that variations in future thinking were experienced as a function of depression and anxiety, our analysis highlighted new factors that should be considered in studies of adolescent mental health risk, which could inform the development of new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peiyao Tang
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Georgia Pavlopoulou
- Group for Research in Relationships and Neurodiversity (GRRAND), Clinical, Education & Health Psychology, Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- Anna Freud Centre, London, UK
| | - Katarzyna Kostyrka-Allchorne
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Jacqueline Phillips-Owen
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Edmund Sonuga-Barke
- School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Patriarca GC, Rey Y, Yeguez CE, Buitron V, McMakin DL, Pettit JW. Attentional Control Accounts for the Association Between Anxiety Sensitivity and Sleep Efficiency in Clinic-Referred Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2023:10.1007/s10578-023-01631-9. [PMID: 38036742 PMCID: PMC11143078 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-023-01631-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Youth with anxiety disorders report difficulty falling asleep and returning to sleep after sleep onset (i.e., poor sleep efficiency). Anxiety sensitivity, the excessive attention to physical symptoms of anxiety and their threatening interpretations, has been linked to poor sleep efficiency. We tested a conceptual model wherein attentional control, attentional focusing and attentional shifting would account for the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and poor sleep efficiency. 255 youths (6-17 years old, 78% Hispanic/Latino) who presented to a university-based research clinic completed measures on anxiety sensitivity, sleep, and attentional control. Poorer sleep efficiency was significantly correlated with higher anxiety sensitivity and lower attentional control, attentional focusing, and attentional shifting. Higher anxiety sensitivity was significantly correlated with lower attentional control and attentional focusing. Attentional control and attentional focusing, not attentional shifting, accounted for the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and poor sleep efficiency. These findings identify attentional control and attentional focusing as variables that may explain the association between anxiety sensitivity and sleep efficiency in youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe C Patriarca
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, AHC 1 Room 140, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Yasmin Rey
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, AHC 1 Room 140, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Carlos E Yeguez
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, AHC 1 Room 140, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Victor Buitron
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Dana L McMakin
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, AHC 1 Room 140, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
| | - Jeremy W Pettit
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, AHC 1 Room 140, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
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Bosl WJ, Bosquet Enlow M, Lock EF, Nelson CA. A biomarker discovery framework for childhood anxiety. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1158569. [PMID: 37533889 PMCID: PMC10393248 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1158569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Anxiety is the most common manifestation of psychopathology in youth, negatively affecting academic, social, and adaptive functioning and increasing risk for mental health problems into adulthood. Anxiety disorders are diagnosed only after clinical symptoms emerge, potentially missing opportunities to intervene during critical early prodromal periods. In this study, we used a new empirical approach to extracting nonlinear features of the electroencephalogram (EEG), with the goal of discovering differences in brain electrodynamics that distinguish children with anxiety disorders from healthy children. Additionally, we examined whether this approach could distinguish children with externalizing disorders from healthy children and children with anxiety. Methods We used a novel supervised tensor factorization method to extract latent factors from repeated multifrequency nonlinear EEG measures in a longitudinal sample of children assessed in infancy and at ages 3, 5, and 7 years of age. We first examined the validity of this method by showing that calendar age is highly correlated with latent EEG complexity factors (r = 0.77). We then computed latent factors separately for distinguishing children with anxiety disorders from healthy controls using a 5-fold cross validation scheme and similarly for distinguishing children with externalizing disorders from healthy controls. Results We found that latent factors derived from EEG recordings at age 7 years were required to distinguish children with an anxiety disorder from healthy controls; recordings from infancy, 3 years, or 5 years alone were insufficient. However, recordings from two (5, 7 years) or three (3, 5, 7 years) recordings gave much better results than 7 year recordings alone. Externalizing disorders could be detected using 3- and 5 years EEG data, also giving better results with two or three recordings than any single snapshot. Further, sex assigned at birth was an important covariate that improved accuracy for both disorder groups, and birthweight as a covariate modestly improved accuracy for externalizing disorders. Recordings from infant EEG did not contribute to the classification accuracy for either anxiety or externalizing disorders. Conclusion This study suggests that latent factors extracted from EEG recordings in childhood are promising candidate biomarkers for anxiety and for externalizing disorders if chosen at appropriate ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J. Bosl
- Center for AI & Medicine, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michelle Bosquet Enlow
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Eric F. Lock
- Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Charles A. Nelson
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Conley MI, Hernandez J, Salvati JM, Gee DG, Baskin-Sommers A. The role of perceived threats on mental health, social, and neurocognitive youth outcomes: A multicontextual, person-centered approach. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:689-710. [PMID: 35232507 PMCID: PMC9437149 DOI: 10.1017/s095457942100184x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Perceived threat in youth's environments can elevate risk for mental health, social, and neurocognitive difficulties throughout the lifespan. However, few studies examine variability in youth's perceptions of threat across multiple contexts or evaluate outcomes across multiple domains, ultimately limiting our understanding of specific risks associated with perceived threats in different contexts. This study examined associations between perceived threat in youth's neighborhood, school, and family contexts at ages 9-10 and mental health, social, and neurocognitive outcomes at ages 11-12 within a large US cohort (N = 5525) enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: Low Threat in all contexts, Elevated Family Threat, Elevated Neighborhood Threat, and Elevated Threat in all contexts. Mixed-effect models and post hoc pairwise comparisons showed that youth in Elevated Threat profile had poorer mental health and social outcomes 2 years later. Youth in the Elevated Family Threat profile uniquely showed increased disruptive behavior symptoms, whereas youth in the Elevated Neighborhood Threat profile predominantly displayed increased sleep problems and worse neurocognitive outcomes 2 years later. Together, findings highlight the importance of considering perceptions of threat across multiple contexts to achieve a more nuanced developmental picture.
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Affiliation(s)
- May I. Conley
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT,
USA
| | | | - Joeann M. Salvati
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg
School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Dylan G. Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT,
USA
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Wise S, Huang-Pollock C, Pérez-Edgar K. Frontal alpha asymmetry in anxious school-aged children during completion of a threat identification task. Biol Psychol 2023; 179:108550. [PMID: 37003420 PMCID: PMC10175183 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Asymmetry of EEG alpha power in the frontal lobe has been extensively studied over the past 30 years as a potential marker of emotion and motivational state. However, most studies rely on time consuming manipulations in which participants are placed in anxiety-provoking situations. Relatively fewer studies have examined alpha asymmetry in response to briefly presented emotionally evocative stimuli. If alpha asymmetry can be evoked in those situations, it would open up greater methodological possibilities for examining task-driven changes in neural activation. Seventy-seven children, aged 8-12 years old (36 of whom were high anxious), completed three different threat identification tasks (faces, images, and words) while EEG signal was recorded. Alpha power was segmented and compared across trials in which participants viewed threatening vs. neutral stimuli. Threatening images and faces, but not words, induced lower right vs. left alpha power (greater right asymmetry) that was not present when viewing neutral images or faces. Mixed results are reported for the effect of anxiety symptomatology on asymmetry. In a similar manner to studies of state- and trait-level withdrawal in adults, frontal neural asymmetry can be induced in school-aged children using presentation of brief emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane Wise
- The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Psychology, USA.
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Electrophysiological correlates of attentional bias towards threat in children with high levels of social anxiety. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 23:190-202. [PMID: 36380263 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01042-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Pediatric social anxiety is characterized by attentional biases (AB) towards social threats. This study used a new response-based calculation method to assess AB from response times (RT) in a visual dot-probe task and electroencephalography (EEG) to explore its electrophysiological correlates. Twenty, high socially anxious children (HSA) (mean [M ] = 10.1 years; standard deviation [SD] = 1.01) were compared with 22 healthy control children (HC) (M = 10.20 years; SD = 1.30) matched in age and gender. Participants had to identify targets preceded by disgust-neutral, happy-neutral, or neutral-neutral pairs of faces. RT and electroencephalograms were recorded throughout the task. While no significant group difference was found at the behavioral level, principal component analyses performed on EEG data revealed that event-related potentials for threat-related stimuli were impacted by social anxiety. Analyses indicated a larger N170 amplitude in response to all facial stimuli in HC when compared to the HSA. However, we found increased P2 amplitudes for disgust-neutral pairs compared with happy-neutral pairs in has only. Then, thasHSA group showed increased P2 amplitudes for targets following disgusted faces on the opposite side of the screen compared with targets appearing on the same side of the screen. These results suggest that HSA may display an increased anchorage of attention on threatening stimuli and need more effort to disengage their attentional focus from threats and to perform the task correctly. Taken together, our data confirmed the presence of AB in children with high levels of social anxiety, which are reflected by increased neural processing during the confrontation to faces depicting a potential threatening expression.
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Buhl C, Sfärlea A, Loechner J, Starman-Wöhrle K, Salemink E, Schulte-Körne G, Platt B. Biased Maintenance of Attention on Sad Faces in Clinically Depressed Youth: An Eye-Tracking Study. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2023; 54:189-201. [PMID: 34476682 PMCID: PMC9867681 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-021-01229-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The role of negative attention biases (AB), central to cognitive models of adult depression, is yet unclear in youth depression. We investigated negative AB in depressed compared to healthy youth and tested whether AB are more pronounced in depressed than at-risk youth. Negative AB was assessed for sad and angry faces with an eye-tracking paradigm [Passive Viewing Task (PVT)] and a behavioural task [Visual Search Task (VST)], comparing three groups of 9-14-year-olds: youth with major depression (MD; n = 32), youth with depressed parents (high-risk; HR; n = 49) and youth with healthy parents (low-risk; LR; n = 42). The PVT revealed MD participants to maintain attention longer on sad faces compared to HR, but not LR participants. This AB correlated positively with depressive symptoms. The VST revealed no group differences. Our results provide preliminary evidence for a negative AB in maintenance of attention on disorder-specific emotional information in depressed compared to at-risk youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Buhl
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336, Munich, Germany.
| | - Anca Sfärlea
- grid.411095.80000 0004 0477 2585Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Johanna Loechner
- grid.411095.80000 0004 0477 2585Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany ,grid.424214.50000 0001 1302 5619German Youth Institute, Munich, Germany
| | - Kornelija Starman-Wöhrle
- grid.411095.80000 0004 0477 2585Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Elske Salemink
- grid.5477.10000000120346234Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Gerd Schulte-Körne
- grid.411095.80000 0004 0477 2585Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Belinda Platt
- grid.411095.80000 0004 0477 2585Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany
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Laméris DW, van Berlo E, Roth TS, Kret ME. No Evidence for Biased Attention Towards Emotional Scenes in Bornean Orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus). AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2022; 3:772-782. [PMID: 36519144 PMCID: PMC9743850 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-022-00158-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Attention may be swiftly and automatically tuned to emotional expressions in social primates, as has been demonstrated in humans, bonobos, and macaques, and with mixed evidence in chimpanzees, where rapid detection of emotional expressions is thought to aid in navigating their social environment. Compared to the other great apes, orangutans are considered semi-solitary, but still form temporary social parties in which sensitivity to others' emotional expressions may be beneficial. The current study investigated whether implicit emotion-biased attention is also present in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). We trained six orangutans on the dot-probe paradigm: an established paradigm used in comparative studies which measures reaction time in response to a probe replacing emotional and neutral stimuli. Emotional stimuli consisted of scenes depicting conspecifics having sex, playing, grooming, yawning, or displaying aggression. These scenes were contrasted with neutral scenes showing conspecifics with a neutral face and body posture. Using Bayesian mixed modeling, we found no evidence for an overall emotion bias in this species. When looking at emotion categories separately, we also did not find substantial biases. We discuss the absence of an implicit attention bias for emotional expressions in orangutans in relation to the existing primate literature, and the methodological limitations of the task. Furthermore, we reconsider the emotional stimuli used in this study and their biological relevance. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00158-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. W. Laméris
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium
- Antwerp ZOO Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - E. van Berlo
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - T. S. Roth
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Apenheul Primate Park, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
| | - M. E. Kret
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands
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Rowlands K, Beaty T, Simic M, Grafton B, Hirsch C, Treasure J, Cardi V. Cognitive bias modification training of attention and interpretation to reduce expectations of social rejection in adolescents with eating disorders: A small efficacy randomized controlled trial. Int J Eat Disord 2022; 55:1506-1520. [PMID: 36147018 PMCID: PMC9825839 DOI: 10.1002/eat.23809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate whether a computerized cognitive bias modification training delivered remotely would reduce expectations of rejection in adolescents with eating disorders. METHOD Sixty-seven adolescents aged 12-18 (99.5% female) with an eating disorder diagnosis (94% anorexia nervosa) and receiving specialist treatment were recruited. Participants were randomized to an intervention condition (n = 37) which included treatment as usual (TAU) supplemented by nine sessions of online cognitive bias modification training for social stimuli (CBMT + TAU), or a control condition (n = 30), which included TAU only. Participants were invited to complete assessments at baseline and post-intervention. RESULTS In the intervention condition, 22/37 participants completed six or more training sessions and post-intervention measures, the pre-defined criteria to be considered "completers." In the control condition, 28/30 participants completed the post-intervention measures. Participants who completed the intervention displayed a significantly greater reduction in negative interpretations of ambiguous social scenarios, with a medium effect size (p = .048, ηp2 = .090), and eating disorder psychopathology, with a medium effect size (p = .027, ηp2 = .105), compared to participants in the control condition. No significant between-group differences were found on emotional response to criticism, and anxiety and depression symptoms post-intervention (ps > .05; small effect sizes). DISCUSSION Enhancing treatment as usual with CBMT targeting expectations of social rejection might be feasible and effective to reduce expectations of social rejection and eating disorder psychopathology in adolescents with eating disorders. Training adaptations might be necessary to impact on emotional processing and comorbid psychological distress. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE Adolescents with eating disorders who completed a brief (4-week) online cognitive training intervention, alongside their usual treatment, reported greater reductions in expectations of social rejection and eating disorder psychopathology after the intervention, compared to a separate group of patients who received their usual treatment only. This brief and accessible intervention may be a helpful treatment adjunct for adolescents with eating disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Rowlands
- Department of Psychological MedicineInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Taryn Beaty
- Department of Psychological MedicineInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Mima Simic
- Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders ServiceSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustLondonUK
| | - Ben Grafton
- Centre for the Advancement of Research on EmotionSchool of Psychological Science, University of Western AustraliaCrawleyAustralia
| | - Colette Hirsch
- Psychology DepartmentInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Janet Treasure
- Department of Psychological MedicineInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK
| | - Valentina Cardi
- Department of Psychological MedicineInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUK,Department of General PsychologyUniversity of PadovaItaly
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12
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Mullin BC, Holzman JBW, Pyle L, Perks EL, Chintaluru Y, Gulley LD, Haraden DA, Hankin BL. Relationships between attention to emotion and anxiety among a community sample of adolescents. Psychol Med 2022; 52:1548-1559. [PMID: 33641686 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720003360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attentional bias to threat has been implicated as a cognitive mechanism in anxiety disorders for youth. Yet, prior studies documenting this bias have largely relied on a method with questionable reliability (i.e. dot-probe task) and small samples, few of which included adolescents. The current study sought to address such limitations by examining relations between anxiety - both clinically diagnosed and dimensionally rated - and attentional bias to threat. METHODS The study included a community sample of adolescents and employed eye-tracking methodology intended to capture possible biases across the full range of both automatic (i.e. vigilance bias) and controlled attentional processes (i.e. avoidance bias, maintenance bias). We examined both dimensional anxiety (across the full sample; n = 215) and categorical anxiety in a subset case-control analysis (n = 100) as predictors of biases. RESULTS Findings indicated that participants with an anxiety disorder oriented more slowly to angry faces than matched controls. Results did not suggest a greater likelihood of initial orienting to angry faces among our participants with anxiety disorders or those with higher dimensional ratings of anxiety. Greater anxiety severity was associated with greater dwell time to neutral faces. CONCLUSIONS This is the largest study to date examining eye-tracking metrics of attention to threat among healthy and anxious youth. Findings did not support the notion that anxiety is characterized by heightened vigilance or avoidance/maintenance of attention to threat. All effects detected were extremely small. Links between attention to threat and anxiety among adolescents may be subtle and highly dependent on experimental task dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Mullin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
- Pediatric Mental Health Institute, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Jacob B W Holzman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
- Pediatric Mental Health Institute, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Laura Pyle
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Emmaly L Perks
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | | | - Lauren D Gulley
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Dustin A Haraden
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Benjamin L Hankin
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
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13
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Anxiety and Depression in a Non-Clinical Sample of Young Polish Adults: Presence of Meaning in Life as a Mediator. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19106065. [PMID: 35627602 PMCID: PMC9140330 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19106065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Early adulthood, between 18 and 25, is viewed as a decisive period of life for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression. Although the topic of their mutual relationship is well-known, little has been uncovered about the mechanism underlying this connection. To understand the indirect pathways between anxiety and depression, we chose the sense of meaning of life as a mediator because people's beliefs that their lives are or can be purposeful may protect against depression. The sample was composed of 277 Polish young adults. A small majority of the participants were women (58.8%). The mean age was M = 22.11 (SD = 1.72). We used in the research the Direct Behavior Rating-Scale Items Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Brief Screen for Depression. Correlational analysis showed that, consistent with past findings, anxiety correlated positively with depression and searching for meaning. It was also negatively associated with presence of meaning. Moreover, depression was negatively linked to presence of meaning and positively with searching for meaning. Regression-based mediation analyses (PROCESS macro 3.4) proved that the relationship between anxiety and depression was mediated by presence of meaning in life, suggesting that having a sense of meaning may be a pathway by which feelings of tension relative to adverse events protect against depression.
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14
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The Longitudinal Interplay Between Attention Bias and Interpretation Bias in Social Anxiety in Adolescents. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-022-10304-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Cognitive biases are found to play a role in the onset and maintenance of social anxiety. However, particularly in adolescence, the link between different biases and their role in predicting social anxiety is far from clear. This study therefore investigated the interplay between attention bias and interpretation bias in relation to social anxiety in adolescence across three years.
Methods
816 adolescents in grade 7 to 9 participated at three yearly waves (52.8% boys, Mage grade7 = 12.60). Social anxiety was measured with a self-report questionnaire. Attention bias was measured with a visual search task with emotional faces. Textual vignettes assessed interpretation bias.
Results
Cross-lagged models showed that negative interpretation bias at grade 7 predicted an increase in social anxiety at grade 8. This effect was not found from grade 8 to 9. Attention bias did not predict social anxiety. Attention bias and interpretation bias were not longitudinally related to each other, nor did they interact with each other in predicting social anxiety.
Conclusions
Thus, no evidence was found for the Combined Cognitive Bias Hypothesis in social anxiety in adolescents. Instead, our results suggest that interpretation bias rather than attention bias contributes to the increase of social anxiety over time.
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15
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Wauthia E, D’Hondt F, Blekic W, Lefebvre L, Ris L, Rossignol M. Neural responses associated with attentional engagement and disengagement from threat in high socially anxious children: Evidence from temporal-spatial PCA. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261172. [PMID: 35030177 PMCID: PMC8759697 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive models indicated that social anxiety disorder (SAD) would be caused and maintained by a biased attentional processing of threatening information. This study investigates whether socially anxious children may present impaired attentional engagement and disengagement from negative emotional faces, as well as their underlying event-related potential responses. METHODS AND FINDINGS Fifteen children with high levels of social anxiety (HSA; 9 boys; mean age = 9.99y; SD = 1.14) and twenty low socially anxious children (LSA; 16 boys; mean age = 10.47y; SD = 1.17) participated in a spatial cueing task in which they had to detect targets following neutral/disgusted faces in a valid or invalid location. No group effect was reported on reaction times [p>.05]. However, electrophysiological data showed lower P3a amplitude in HSA children compared with the LSA group when processing facial stimuli. They also reported larger N2 amplitudes for valid-disgusted targets and a larger P3a amplitude for the invalid-disgusted ones. CONCLUSION In terms of electrophysiological data, our results validated, the hypothesis of attentional disengagement difficulties in SAD children. We also confirm the idea that high levels of social anxiety are associated with cognitive control impairments and have a greater impact on the processing efficiency than on the performance effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Wauthia
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
- Interdisciplinary Research Center in Psychophysiology and Cognitive Electrophysiology, Mons, Belgium
- National Fund for Human Science Research, National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Fabien D’Hondt
- Univ. Lille, INSERM U1172, CHU Lille, Centre Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, France
- CHU Lille, Clinique de Psychiatrie, Unité CURE, Lille, France
- Centre national de ressources et de résilience Lille-Paris (CN2R), Lille, France
| | - Wivine Blekic
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
- Interdisciplinary Research Center in Psychophysiology and Cognitive Electrophysiology, Mons, Belgium
- National Fund for Human Science Research, National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Laurent Lefebvre
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
- Interdisciplinary Research Center in Psychophysiology and Cognitive Electrophysiology, Mons, Belgium
| | - Laurence Ris
- Interdisciplinary Research Center in Psychophysiology and Cognitive Electrophysiology, Mons, Belgium
- Neurosciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Mandy Rossignol
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
- Interdisciplinary Research Center in Psychophysiology and Cognitive Electrophysiology, Mons, Belgium
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16
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Walczak M, Austgulen E, Kirsten L, Breinholst S. Examining Changes in the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome and Attentional Control Following Metacognitive Therapy for Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Int J Cogn Ther 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s41811-021-00124-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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17
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Rappaport LM, Di Nardo N, Brotman MA, Pine DS, Leibenluft E, Roberson-Nay R, Hettema JM. Pediatric anxiety associated with altered facial emotion recognition. J Anxiety Disord 2021; 82:102432. [PMID: 34146888 PMCID: PMC8364876 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Multiple psychiatric disorders are associated with difficulties in facial emotion recognition. However, generalized anxiety disorder may be associated with more accurate recognition of others' emotional expressions, particularly expressions of happiness and fear, which index safety and threat. Children aged 9-14 from a community sample (N = 601) completed a facial emotion labeling task. Children's symptoms of depressive and anxiety syndromes were assessed by self- and parent-report. Elevated symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder were associated with more accurate facial emotion recognition (β = 0.16, p = 0.007), specifically recognition of happiness (β = 0.17, p = 0.002) and fear (β = 0.15, p = 0.006). Elevated depressive symptoms were associated with less accurate facial emotion recognition (β = -0.12, p = 0.018), specifically happiness (β = -0.15, p = 0.002). Elevated symptoms of separation anxiety disorder were also associated with less accurate facial emotion recognition (β = -0.16, p = 0.003), specifically happiness (β = -0.15, p = 0.006) and fear (β = -0.15, p = 0.005), which highlights the importance of distinguishing between anxiety syndromes. Results held when adjusting for child age and sex. Evidence that symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder are associated with more accurate recognition of happiness and fear is consistent with theories of heightened social vigilance and support a transdiagnostic role of facial emotion recognition that may inform the psychosocial development of youth with anxiety and depressive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lance M. Rappaport
- Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Nicole Di Nardo
- Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Melissa A. Brotman
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Roxann Roberson-Nay
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - John M. Hettema
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Texas A&M Health Sciences Center, Bryan, Texas, USA
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18
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Vesco AT, Howard KR, Anderson LM, Papadakis JL, Hood KK, Weissberg-Benchell J. Examining Indirect Effects of Anxiety on Glycated Hemoglobin via Automatic Negative Thinking and Diabetes-Specific Distress in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes. Can J Diabetes 2021; 45:473-480. [PMID: 34176611 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In this study, we examined the indirect effects of anxiety on glycated hemoglobin (A1C) via automatic negative thinking and diabetes distress among adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) during the follow-up interval of a randomized controlled trial of an intervention targeting resilience promotion/depression prevention. METHODS Adolescents (N=264) participating in the Supporting Teen Problem Solving clinical trial were included and assessed at 8, 12, 16 and 28 months postbaseline. A serial, double-mediation model was used to examine path effects from anxiety to A1C through automatic negative thinking, through diabetes distress and through both automatic negative thinking and diabetes distress. Relevant demographic and clinical covariates were included. RESULTS Anxiety significantly predicted increases in both automatic negative thinking and diabetes distress. Automatic negative thinking was not found to mediate the association between anxiety and A1C, but diabetes distress did mediate the association. The double-mediation path through automatic negative thinking and diabetes distress together was significant. The indirect effect of anxiety on A1C through diabetes distress was significant and greater than the indirect effect of the double-mediator path. Anxiety did not predict A1C independent of its effects on automatic negative thinking and diabetes distress. Inclusion of demographic covariates did not substantively change the results. CONCLUSIONS Analyses suggest that automatic negative thinking and diabetes distress mediate the relationship between anxiety and A1C among adolescents with T1D. Diabetes distress appears to be a robust factor linking anxiety to A1C. Diabetes distress should be further examined as a mediator of glycemic variability in anxious youth with T1D.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony T Vesco
- Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
| | - Kelsey R Howard
- Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Lindsay M Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
| | - Jaclyn L Papadakis
- Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Korey K Hood
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States
| | - Jill Weissberg-Benchell
- Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States
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19
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van Son D, Marin CE, Boutris P, Rey Y, Lebowitz ER, Pettit JW, Silverman WK. Attending to the Attentional Control Scale for Children: Confirming its factor structure and measurement invariance. J Anxiety Disord 2021; 80:102399. [PMID: 33892347 PMCID: PMC8141040 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The Attentional Control Scale for Children (ACS-C) is a widely used self-report questionnaire that measures attentional control in youth. Previous research examined factor-structure and validation of the ACS-C and yielded a 2-factor structure with Attentional Focusing and Attentional Shifting subscales. This study used a confirmatory factor analysis in a large, ethnically diverse sample of clinic-referred anxious youth (N = 442, ages 7-16 years) to compare model fit of three models, the original two-factor model of the ACS-C, a two-factor model of a modified ACS-C (two items re-assigned from Attentional Focusing to Attentional Shifting, three items removed from Attentional Focusing, and two items removed from Attentional Shifting), and a single-factor model. Results reveal best model fit for the two-factor modified ACS-C. This model had strong factorial invariance across sex, partial invariance across ethnicity, and was variant across age. Also, total and subscale scores for the two-factor modified ACS-C correlated with anxiety and depression symptom scale scores, supporting its concurrent validity. Findings confirm the two-factor structure of the modified ACS-C. Future research implications relating to attentional control in children are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana van Son
- Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, USA
| | | | | | - Yasmin Rey
- Florida International University, Miami, USA
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20
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Vervoort L, Braun M, De Schryver M, Naets T, Koster EHW, Braet C. A Pictorial Dot Probe Task to Assess Food-Related Attentional Bias in Youth With and Without Obesity: Overview of Indices and Evaluation of Their Reliability. Front Psychol 2021; 12:644512. [PMID: 33746859 PMCID: PMC7965983 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Several versions of the dot probe detection task are frequently used to assess maladaptive attentional processes associated with a broad range of psychopathology and health behavior, including eating behavior and weight. However, there are serious concerns about the reliability of the indices derived from the paradigm as measurement of attentional bias toward or away from salient stimuli. The present paper gives an overview of different attentional bias indices used in psychopathology research and scrutinizes three types of indices (the traditional attentional bias score, the dynamic trial-level base scores, and the probability index) calculated from a pictorial version of the dot probe task to assess food-related attentional biases in children and youngsters with and without obesity. Correlational analyses reveal that dynamic scores (but not the traditional and probability indices) are dependent on general response speed. Reliability estimates are low for the traditional and probability indices. The higher reliability for the dynamic indices is at least partially explained by general response speed. No significant group differences between youth with and without obesity are found, and correlations with weight are also non-significant. Taken together, results cast doubt on the applicability of this specific task for both experimental and individual differences research on food-related attentional biases in youth. However, researchers are encouraged to make and test adaptations to the procedure or computational algorithm in an effort to increase psychometric quality of the task and to report psychometric characteristics of their version of the task for their specific sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leentje Vervoort
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maya Braun
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maarten De Schryver
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Faculty Research Support Office, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tiffany Naets
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department Health Care (Dietetics), Odisee University College, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ernst H. W. Koster
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Caroline Braet
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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21
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Cohen JR, Thakur H. Developmental consequences of emotional abuse and neglect in vulnerable adolescents: A multi-informant, multi-wave study. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2021; 111:104811. [PMID: 33234389 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Extant research and theory posit that emotional abuse and emotional neglect-exposure is uniquely harmful during adolescence. Yet, these findings are mostly based on mono-informant, retrospective studies with unselected adults that examine emotional maltreatment in the aggregate. This prevents inferences concerning the unique, prospective risk emotional abuse and neglect, as reported by multiple informants, may confer within at-risk, adolescent samples. OBJECTIVE In response, the present study examined how emotional abuse and emotional neglect-exposure in adolescence uniquely related to psychological symptoms and social impairment. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Our aims were tested in a child welfare system (CWS)-involved sample of adolescents (N = 657; AgeM = 12.49 at baseline) who were participating in a longitudinal study. METHODS A multi-informant approach was used to assess emotional abuse/neglect and mental health. Physical abuse and lifetime CWS contact represented covariates in growth curve models. RESULTS Emotional abuse predicted symptoms within informant, such that youth-reported emotional abuse predicted youth-reported internalizing, β = 0.21, p = .001, and externalizing, β=0.35, p = .001, symptoms while parent-reported emotional abuse predicted parent-reported externalizing, β=0.30, p < .001, and internalizing β=0.29, p < .001, symptoms. Meanwhile, youth-reported emotional neglect predicted heightened self-reported internalizing symptoms, β=0.29, p < .001, parent-reported externalizing symptoms, β=0.15, p = .002 and social impairment across youth, β=-0.17, p = .01 and parent, β=-0.24, p < .001, report. CONCLUSIONS This study shows the importance of distinguishing between these maltreatment subtypes in adolescence and provides measurement recommendations for future maltreatment research. The manuscript concludes by discussing adolescent emotional abuse and neglect-exposure as a maintenance, as opposed to causal risk, factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R Cohen
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, United States.
| | - Hena Thakur
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, United States
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22
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Klymkiw DF, Milligan K, Lackner C, Phillips M, Schmidt LA, Segalowitz SJ. Does Anxiety Enhance or Hinder Attentional and Impulse Control in Youth With ADHD? An ERP Analysis. J Atten Disord 2020; 24:1746-1756. [PMID: 28494637 DOI: 10.1177/1087054717707297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Youth with ADHD and comorbid anxiety (ADHD+ANX) experience increased social and academic impairment compared with youth with ADHD without anxiety (ADHD). Group differences in attentional and impulse control may underlie this increased impairment. Examination of group differences using behavioral measures of attentional and impulse control has yielded inconsistent findings. This study explored group differences using event-related potentials (ERPs), which provide neural information concerning early information processing. Method: ERPs (early frontal positivity [EFP], N2) were collected while youth aged 11 to 17 with ADHD (n = 31) and ADHD+ANX (n = 35) completed a visual and an auditory computer task. Results: Compared with the ADHD group, the ADHD+ANX group exhibited larger N2 amplitudes to no-go stimuli and larger EFP amplitudes to target auditory stimuli, with variable attention allocation to nontarget stimuli. Conclusion: The addition of anxiety to ADHD appears to alter early attentional processing, which may be an important aspect of this comorbidity.
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Somers JA, Luecken LJ. Socioemotional Mechanisms of Children's Differential Response to the Effects of Maternal Sensitivity on Child Adjustment. PARENTING, SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2020; 21:241-275. [PMID: 34483750 PMCID: PMC8411900 DOI: 10.1080/15295192.2020.1809955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Children differ in the extent to which they reap the benefits of maternal sensitive care or suffer the adverse consequences of insensitive care, and these differences can be accounted for by biological characteristics. However, how susceptible children adapt to maternal sensitivity in ways that either maximize positive development or lead to maladjustment has yet to be determined. Here, we propose a novel model of socioemotional mechanisms by which the joint influences of maternal sensitivity and child biological characteristics influence child adjustment. DESIGN We propose a theoretical model, in which children's vagal functioning and polymorphisms in serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) genes confer susceptibility to the effects of maternal sensitivity on internalizing, externalizing, prosocial and moral behavior via changes in interpersonal strategies for emotion regulation, the threat response system, and empathy. RESULTS Theoretical and empirical support for the proposed mechanisms are provided. CONCLUSIONS The proposed mechanistic model of susceptibility to maternal sensitivity offers a novel framework of for whom and how children are affected by early maternal care, highlighting multiple reciprocal, interacting influences across genes, physiology, behavior, and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Somers
- Arizona State University, Department of Psychology, PO Box 871104, Tempe, AZ 85287
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Socioeconomic disadvantage, brain morphometry, and attentional bias to threat in middle childhood. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 19:309-326. [PMID: 30460484 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00670-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with higher rates of psychopathology as well as hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex structure. However, little is known about how variations in brain morphometry are associated with socio-emotional risks for mood disorders in children growing up in families experiencing low income. In the current study, using structural magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and gray matter volume in the hippocampus, amygdala, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in a sample of children (n = 34) in middle childhood. Using an affective dot probe paradigm, we examined the association between gray matter volume in these regions and attentional bias to threat, a risk marker for mood disorders including anxiety disorders. We found that lower income-to-needs ratio was associated with lower bilateral hippocampal and right amygdala volume, but not prefrontal cortex volumes. Moreover, lower attentional bias to threat was associated with greater left hippocampal volume. We provide evidence of a relationship between income-related variations in brain structure and attentional bias to threat, a risk for mood disorders. Therefore, these findings support an environment-morphometry-behavior relationship that contributes to the understanding of income-related mental health disparities in childhood.
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25
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Burkhouse KL, Owens M, James K, Gibb BE. Age differences in electrocortical reactivity to fearful faces following aversive conditioning in youth. J Exp Child Psychol 2019; 188:104676. [PMID: 31499457 PMCID: PMC6768736 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Although biases in the processing of affectively salient stimuli are thought to increase risk for psychopathology across the lifespan, questions remain regarding how these biases develop. The current study tested an aversive conditioning model for the development of children's sensitivity in detecting fearful faces at varying levels of emotional intensity and their facilitated attention to fearful faces assessed via the late positive potential (LPP) event-related potential component. Participants (N = 144, ages 7-11 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: an active training condition in which an 85-dB white noise burst was paired with fearful faces, an active control condition in which the white noise was presented randomly throughout the task, and a no-sound condition. Children completed a separate task in which they viewed happy, sad, and fearful child faces at varying levels of emotional intensity while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Although there were no conditioning group differences in children's sensitivity in detecting facial displays of emotion, there were group differences in LPP magnitude that were moderated by children's age. Among younger children, those in the active conditioning group exhibited smaller LPP amplitudes to high-intensity fearful faces than children in the control groups. However, among older youth, those in the active conditioning group exhibited larger LPP amplitudes to high-intensity fearful faces than children in the control groups. These findings provide insight into how attentional biases may develop in children and how period of development may influence these patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie L Burkhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA.
| | - Max Owens
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
| | - Kiera James
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University (State University of New York), Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
| | - Brandon E Gibb
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University (State University of New York), Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
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de Lijster JM, Utens EMWJ, Dieleman GC, Alexander TM, Hillegers MHJ, Legerstee JS. Familial Aggregation of Cognitive Biases for Children with Anxiety Disorders. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-019-10031-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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27
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Rosen D, Price RB, Silk JS. An integrative review of the vigilance-avoidance model in pediatric anxiety disorders: Are we looking in the wrong place? J Anxiety Disord 2019; 64:79-89. [PMID: 31051420 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Enduring cognitive models of anxiety posit that negative biases in information processing are implicated in the etiology, maintenance, and recurrence of anxiety disorders in youth and adults. Specifically, the vigilance-avoidance model of attention is an influential hypothesis proposed to explain anxious individuals' attentional patterns. The vigilance-avoidance model posits that anxious individuals, relative to nonanxious individuals, initially orient more quickly to threatening stimuli and then later avoid threatening stimuli. However, a large body of empirical research examining attentional mechanisms in anxious individuals uses paradigms that do not allow the measurement of the time course of attention. Furthermore, existing reviews that examine the time course of attention only include studies with adults. We systematically review in depth the literature that compares anxious and non-anxious children that takes advantage of research designs that allow the examination of the time course of attention. Across studies, there is not robust support for the vigilance-avoidance model in samples of anxious youth. Future research examining attention biases across time should employ tasks that more directly measure multiple stages of attention, in order to assess if vigilance-avoidance patterns emerge based on sample characteristics or task variables, and to inform intervention efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Rosen
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, USA.
| | - Rebecca B Price
- University of Pittsburgh Medical centre, Department of Psychiatry, USA
| | - Jennifer S Silk
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, USA; University of Pittsburgh Medical centre, Department of Psychiatry, USA
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28
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Fang J, Wang S, Liu J, Gong J. Early ERP components to emotional facial expressions in young adult victims of childhood maltreatment. Psychiatry Res 2019; 275:120-128. [PMID: 30901670 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2017] [Revised: 03/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The ability to appropriately recognize the facial expression of emotions is essential for the development of adaptive functioning. Studies suggest that maltreated children are hypersensitive to expression of anger. However, the neural mechanism of emotional face processing in young adults with a history of childhood maltreatment has yet to be explored. To explore whether the history of childhood maltreatment has a potential relationship with processing of emotional facial expressions, the present study used event-related potentials in investigating the early ERP components (P100 and N170) to the processing of emotional (angry, fearful, disgusted, and happy) faces in young adult victims of childhood maltreatment. Seventeen young adults with a history of childhood maltreatment and seventeen age and gender-matched non-maltreated participants performed a modified dot-probe task, using emotional faces paired with neutral faces. Results revealed no significant differences between maltreated group and non-maltreated group in P100 amplitude, but the N170 amplitude in the maltreated group was larger than non-maltreated group when processing angry, fearful, and happy faces. As such, this study provides biological evidence of altered neural processing of emotional facial expressions in young adults with a history of childhood maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Fang
- Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Suhong Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, China
| | - Jianbo Liu
- Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Jingbo Gong
- Department of Applied Psychology, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China; The Diagnosis of Chinese Medicine of the Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Changsha, China.
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Abstract
A growing evidence base supports attention bias modification (ABM) as a novel intervention for anxiety. However, research has been largely conducted with adults and analogue samples, leaving the impact of ABM for child anxiety be fully elucidated. Thus, we conducted a double-blind, randomized controlled trial testing ABM efficacy versus an attention control condition (CC) in 31 children diagnosed with anxiety disorder. Youth were assigned to 4 weeks of ABM where attention was trained away from threat, or a sham CC in which no bias training occurred. Findings indicate that significantly more youth in the ABM versus CC group were considered treatment responders post training. The ABM versus CC group also demonstrated a greater decrease in anxiety severity, with this difference being marginally significant. Findings lend support for the potential of ABM in reducing youth anxiety. Further work regarding mechanisms of action is warranted to advance ABM research.
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30
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Fu X, Pérez-Edgar K. Threat-related Attention Bias in Socioemotional Development: A Critical Review and Methodological Considerations. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2019; 51:31-57. [PMID: 32205901 PMCID: PMC7088448 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cross-sectional evidence suggests that attention bias to threat is linked to anxiety disorders and anxiety vulnerability in both children and adults. However, there is a lack of developmental evidence regarding the causal mechanisms through which attention bias to threat might convey risks for socioemotional problems, such as anxiety. Gaining insights into this question demands longitudinal research to track the complex interplay between threat-related attention and socioemotional functioning. Developing and implementing reliable and valid assessments tools is essential to this line of work. This review presents theoretical accounts and empirical evidence from behavioral, eye-tracking, and neural assessments of attention to discuss our current understanding of the development of normative threat-related attention in infancy, as well as maladaptive threat-related attention patterns that may be associated with the development of anxiety. This review highlights the importance of measuring threat-related attention using multiple attention paradigms at multiple levels of analysis. In order to understand if and how threat-related attention bias in real-life, social interactive contexts can predict socioemotional development outcomes, this review proposes that future research cannot solely rely on screen-based paradigms but needs to extend the assessment of threat-related attention to naturalistic settings. Mobile eye-tracking technology provides an effective tool for capturing threat-related attention processes in vivo as children navigate fear-eliciting environments and may help us uncover more proximal bio-psycho-behavioral markers of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxue Fu
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, United States
| | - Koraly Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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The effects of childhood maltreatment and anxiety proneness on neuropsychological test performance in non-clinical older adolescents. J Affect Disord 2019; 243:133-144. [PMID: 30243193 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The effect of childhood maltreatment (CM) on neuropsychological performance is well established, but the effect of anxiety proneness (AP) on such performance has been underexplored. We assessed the predictive ability of CM and AP, and their interaction, in non-clinical adolescents, for a range of previously documented neuropsychological deficits. METHODS Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the unique and combined influences of CM and AP on neuropsychological performance in 104 non-clinical adolescents, who underwent both neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessment. RESULTS The interaction of CM and AP was associated with poorer performance in executive functioning skills, processing speed, and estimated IQ. CM and AP were uniquely associated with verbal working memory performance, while verbal and visual memory performance and learning, and visuo-spatial ability, were not associated with either CM, AP or the interaction of CM and AP. LIMITATIONS The use of self-report measures to determine participants' levels of CM, AP, and depression. The CTQ-SF, a retrospective self-report measure, may have introduced recall bias. The neuropsychological evaluation was not conducted in the Xhosa language, the first language of most African participants. Most instruments utilized have not been validated in a South African adolescent sample. The impact of important moderator variables (e.g., age of onset of maltreatment) was not assessed. CONCLUSIONS Increased levels of CM and AP may be risk markers for poor performance in several key neuropsychological domains. Our findings underscore the importance of assessing the impact of both CM and anxiety-related temperamental traits on neuropsychological performance.
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Ollendick TH, White SW, Richey J, Kim-Spoon J, Ryan SM, Wieckowski AT, Coffman MC, Elias R, Strege MV, Capriola-Hall NN, Smith M. Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Adolescents With Social Anxiety Disorder. Behav Ther 2019; 50:126-139. [PMID: 30661553 PMCID: PMC6347411 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) tends to emerge during the early teenage years and is particularly refractory to change even when standard evidence-based CBT treatments are delivered. Efforts have been made to develop novel, mechanistic-driven interventions for this disorder. In the present study, we examined Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) for youth with SAD. Participants were 58 adolescents (mean age = 14.29 years) who met diagnostic criteria for SAD and who were randomized to ABMT or a placebo control condition, Attention Control Training (ACT). We predicted that ABMT would result in greater changes in both threat biases and social anxiety symptoms. We also explored potential moderators of change including the severity of social anxiety symptoms, the level of threat bias at pretreatment, and the degree of temperament-defined attention control. Contrary to our hypotheses, changes in attention bias were not observed in either condition, changes in social anxiety symptoms and diagnosis were small, and significant differences were not observed between the ABMT and ACT conditions. Little support for the proposed moderators was obtained. Reasons for our failure to find support for ABMT and its potential moderators are explored and recommendations for changes in the ABMT paradigm are suggested.
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33
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Chasing red herrings: Can visual distracters extend the time children take to open child resistant vials? PLoS One 2018; 13:e0207738. [PMID: 30540760 PMCID: PMC6291070 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Unintentional exposure to medications is a noted problem in pediatric populations despite the prevalent use of child-resistant (CR) packaging and educational campaigns informing consumers about appropriate storage. Objective Conduct a proof-of concept study that evaluates how package designs that engage the attention of children in meaningless ways affect opening time and number of openings. Study design Non-CR vials with or without distracters were provided to 108 children (24–51 months) in pairs. Each participant was handed a vial and instructed to “do whatever you want to with it.” Successful opening and time to opening were recorded. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. Results Older children were approximately four times more likely than younger children to successfully open a vial with a visual distracter (P = 0.049); when distracters were not present, no evidence for differences was apparent between age groups (P = 0.64). For successful openings of either age group, distracter presence significantly prolonged time to opening (P = 0.0375); vials containing distracters took nearly three times longer to open than those without. Conclusions Existing CR designs almost exclusively rely on late stages of information processing (e.g. difficult to understand or open). Our results suggest that packaging designs that target early stage processing (i.e. perception) represent a potential paradigm for creating effective CR designs. It should be acknowledged that visual distracters, by their very nature, have the potential to act as "attractive nuisances" (i.e. if it were to be so effective that it drew children to the hazard). Further studies designed to specifically investigate this possibility are advised.
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34
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Egan LJ, Dennis-Tiwary TA. Dynamic Measures of Anxiety-Related Threat Bias: Links to Stress Reactivity. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2018; 42:546-554. [PMID: 30220752 PMCID: PMC6135252 DOI: 10.1007/s11031-018-9674-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Exaggerated attention to threatening information, or the threat bias, has been implicated in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Recent research has highlighted methodological limitations in threat bias measures, such as temporal insensitivity, leading to the development of novel metrics that capture change and variability in threat bias over time. These metrics, however, have rarely been examined in non-clinical samples. The present study aimed to explore the utility of these trial-level metrics in predicting anxiety-related stress reactivity (stress-induced negative mood state) in trait anxious adults (N = 52). Following a stressor, participants completed the dot probe task to generate threat bias scores. Stress reactivity was measured via stress-induced changes in subjective mood state. More variability in trial-level bias scores and greater bias away from threat (both mean and peak negative trial-level bias scores) predicted increased stress reactivity. The temporal characteristics of threat bias and implications for clinically-relevant measurement are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary
- Hunter College, The City University of New York
- The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York
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35
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Dudeney J, Sharpe L, Sicouri G, Lorimer S, Dear BF, Jaffe A, Selvadurai H, Hunt C. Attentional Bias in Children with Asthma with and without Anxiety Disorders. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 45:1635-1646. [PMID: 28066857 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-017-0261-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Children with asthma have a high prevalence of anxiety disorders, however, very little is known about the mechanisms that confer vulnerability for anxiety in this population. This study investigated whether children with asthma and anxiety disorders display attentional biases towards threatening stimuli, similar to what has been seen in children with anxiety disorders more generally. We also examined the relationships between attentional biases and anxiety symptomatology and asthma control for children with asthma. Ninety-three children, aged 8-13, took part in the study and were recruited into one of four conditions (asthma/anxiety, asthma, anxiety, control). Asthma was medically confirmed and anxiety was assessed through clinical interview. We used self- and parent-report questionnaires to measure child asthma (ATAQ) and anxiety (SCAS, CASI) variables. Participants completed a visual dot-probe task designed to measure attentional bias towards two types of stimuli: asthma related words and general threat words, as well as tasks to assess reading ability and attentional control. Results showed that attentional biases did not differ between the groups, although children with anxiety disorders displayed poorer attentional control. A significant correlation was found between poor asthma control and an attentional bias of asthma stimuli. While we found no evidence that anxiety disorders in children with asthma were associated with threat- or asthma-related attentional biases, preliminary evidence suggested that children with poor asthma control displayed biases towards asthma-specific stimuli. Future research is needed to explore whether these attentional biases are adaptive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne Dudeney
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Louise Sharpe
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Gemma Sicouri
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Sarah Lorimer
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Blake F Dear
- eCentreClinic, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Adam Jaffe
- School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick, Sydney, Australia
| | - Hiran Selvadurai
- The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia
| | - Caroline Hunt
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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36
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Pile V, Robinson S, Topor M, Hedderly T, Lau JYF. Attention bias for social threat in youth with tic disorders: Links with tic severity and social anxiety. Child Neuropsychol 2018; 25:394-409. [PMID: 29877753 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2018.1480754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Many individuals with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders (TS/CTDs) report poor social functioning and comorbid social anxiety. Yet limited research has investigated the role of cognitive factors that highlight social threats in youth with TS/CTD, and whether these biases underlie tic severity and co-occurring social anxiety. This study examined whether selective attention to social threat is enhanced young people with TS/CTDs compared to healthy controls, and whether attention biases are associated with tic severity and social anxiety. Twenty seven young people with TS/CTDs and 25 matched control participants completed an experimental measure of attention bias toward/away from threat stimuli. A clinician-rated interview measuring tic severity/impairment (YGTSS Total Score) and questionnaire measures of social anxiety were completed by participants and their parents. Young people with TS/CTD showed an attention bias to social threat words (relative to benign words) compared to controls but no such bias for social threat faces. Attention bias for social threat words was associated with increasing YGTSS Total Score and parent-reported social anxiety in the TS/CTDs group. Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect path between YGTSS Total Score and social anxiety, via attention to social threat. Tentatively, these associations appeared to be driven by impairment rather than tic severity scores. Preliminary data suggests that youth with TS/CTD have enhanced attention to threat, compared to controls, and this is associated with impairment and social anxiety. Attention to threat could offer a cognitive mechanism connecting impairment and social anxiety, and so be a valuable trans-diagnostic treatment target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Pile
- a King's College London, Department of Psychology , Institute of Psychiatry Psychology & Neuroscience , London , UK
| | - Sally Robinson
- b Tic and Neurodevelopmental Movements Service (TANDeM), Children's Neurosciences Centre , Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, St Thomas' Hospital , London , UK
| | - Marta Topor
- b Tic and Neurodevelopmental Movements Service (TANDeM), Children's Neurosciences Centre , Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, St Thomas' Hospital , London , UK
| | - Tammy Hedderly
- b Tic and Neurodevelopmental Movements Service (TANDeM), Children's Neurosciences Centre , Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, St Thomas' Hospital , London , UK
| | - Jennifer Y F Lau
- a King's College London, Department of Psychology , Institute of Psychiatry Psychology & Neuroscience , London , UK
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Burkhouse KL, Kujawa A, Hosseini B, Klumpp H, Fitzgerald KD, Langenecker SA, Monk CS, Phan KL. Anterior cingulate activation to implicit threat before and after treatment for pediatric anxiety disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 84. [PMID: 29535037 PMCID: PMC5912209 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research suggests that individuals with anxiety have difficulty ignoring threat distractors when completing tasks with competing stimuli. Studies examining the neural correlates of these emotional processing difficulties in youth anxiety highlight reduced recruitment of regions associated with goal-directed attention, such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In the current study, we examined neural activation during an emotional conflict task in youth with anxiety disorders before and after treatment. METHODS Twenty-five youth (ages 9-19 years) with generalized, separation, and/or social anxiety disorder and 25 healthy controls underwent 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging scans approximately 13 weeks apart. At each scan, participants completed a task in which they matched shapes in the context of emotional distractors (happy and threatening faces). Between scans, anxious youth were treated with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). RESULTS Prior to treatment, anxious youth exhibited reduced activation of the medial prefrontal cortex, encompassing the rostral ACC, when matching shapes in the context of threat distractors relative to healthy controls. Activation in this region increased in anxious youth after treatment, but remained unchanged in the healthy control group. Increases in rostral ACC activation were related to greater reductions in social anxiety and avoidance symptoms following treatment. CONCLUSIONS Effective treatments for pediatric anxiety may enhance rostral ACC response during attempts to filter out threat-relevant stimuli. Enhanced recruitment of this region may constitute one manner in which CBT and SSRI treatment reduce youth anxiety symptoms, particularly social anxiety and avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie L. Burkhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Bobby Hosseini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | | | - Scott A. Langenecker
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Christopher S. Monk
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan,Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - K. Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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38
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A Longitudinal Study of Inhibited Temperament, Effortful Control, Gender, and Anxiety in Early Childhood. CHILD & YOUTH CARE FORUM 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10566-018-9447-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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39
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Abend R, de Voogd L, Salemink E, Wiers RW, Pérez-Edgar K, Fitzgerald A, White LK, Salum GA, He J, Silverman WK, Pettit JW, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y. Association between attention bias to threat and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. Depress Anxiety 2018; 35:229-238. [PMID: 29212134 PMCID: PMC6342553 DOI: 10.1002/da.22706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2017] [Revised: 07/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Considerable research links threat-related attention biases to anxiety symptoms in adults, whereas extant findings on threat biases in youth are limited and mixed. Inconsistent findings may arise due to substantial methodological variability and limited sample sizes, emphasizing the need for systematic research on large samples. The aim of this report is to examine the association between threat bias and pediatric anxiety symptoms using standardized measures in a large, international, multi-site youth sample. METHODS A total of 1,291 children and adolescents from seven research sites worldwide completed standardized attention bias assessment task (dot-probe task) and child anxiety symptoms measure (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders). Using a dimensional approach to symptomatology, we conducted regression analyses predicting overall, and disorder-specific, anxiety symptoms severity, based on threat bias scores. RESULTS Threat bias correlated positively with overall anxiety symptoms severity (ß = 0.078, P = .004). Furthermore, threat bias was positively associated specifically with social anxiety (ß = 0.072, P = .008) and school phobia (ß = 0.076, P = .006) symptoms severity, but not with panic, generalized anxiety, or separation anxiety symptoms. These associations were not moderated by age or gender. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate associations between threat bias and pediatric anxiety symptoms, and suggest that vigilance to external threats manifests more prominently in symptoms of social anxiety and school phobia, regardless of age and gender. These findings point to the role of attention bias to threat in anxiety, with implications for translational clinical research. The significance of applying standardized methods in multi-site collaborations for overcoming challenges inherent to clinical research is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Leone de Voogd
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Elske Salemink
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Reinout W. Wiers
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Koraly Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | - Lauren K. White
- Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Giovanni A. Salum
- Departament of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Jie He
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | | | - Jeremy W. Pettit
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yair Bar-Haim
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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40
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Deltomme B, Mertens G, Tibboel H, Braem S. Instructed fear stimuli bias visual attention. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 184:31-38. [PMID: 28889903 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated whether stimuli merely instructed to be fear-relevant can bias visual attention, even when the fear relation was never experienced before. Participants performed a dot-probe task with pictures of naturally fear-relevant (snake or spider) or -irrelevant (bird or butterfly) stimuli. Instructions indicated that two pictures (one naturally fear-relevant and one fear-irrelevant) could be followed by an electrical stimulation (i.e., instructed fear). In reality, no stimulation was administered. During the task, two pictures were presented on each side of the screen, after which participants had to determine as fast as possible on which side a black dot appeared. After a first phase, fear was reinstated by instructing participants that the device was not connected but now was (reinstatement phase). Participants were faster when the dot appeared on a location where an instructed fear picture was presented. This effect seemed independent of whether picture content was naturally fear-relevant, but was only found in the first half of each phase, suggesting rapid extinction due to the absence of stimulation, and rapid re-evaluation after reinstatement. A second experiment similarly showed that instructed fear biases attention, even when participants were explicitly instructed that no stimulation would be given during the dot-probe task. Together, these findings demonstrate that attention can be biased towards instructed fear stimuli, even when these fear relations were never experienced. Future studies should test whether this is specific to fear, or can be observed for all instructions that change the relevance of a given stimulus.
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Maric M, Bexkens A, Bögels SM. Is Clinical Anxiety a Risk or a Protective Factor for Executive Functioning in Youth with ADHD? A Meta-regression Analysis. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2018; 21:340-353. [DOI: 10.1007/s10567-018-0255-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Scott BG, Pina AA, Parker JH. Reluctance to express emotion explains relation between cognitive distortions and social competence in anxious children. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 36:402-417. [PMID: 29235136 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2017] [Revised: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Guided by social information processing and affective social competence models, the focal objective of this research was to examine the relations among anxious children's cognitive distortions, social skill competence, and reluctance to express emotion. In addition, we explored whether children's attention control played any meaningful role. Using a sample of 111 anxious children (Mage = 9.63, SD = 0.73; 75.7% girls; 56% Hispanic/Latino), we found that cognitive distortions were negatively related to social competence. In addition, tests of moderated mediation showed that the negative association between cognitive distortions and social skill competence was indirect via reluctance to express emotion, but this only was the case for anxious children with high attention control and for distortions in the academic domain. The findings of this study may set the stage for new ways to conceptualize the role of higher attention control among anxious youth. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Cognitive errors are prevalent in anxious youth Anxious children show socio-emotion deficits What does this study add? Cognitive errors are related to socio-emotion deficits in anxious youth Relations depend on attention control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon G Scott
- Department of Psychology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Armando A Pina
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Julia H Parker
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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Mullin BC, Simon SL. Managing Insomnia Symptoms Among Adolescents With Anxiety Disorders. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/23794925.2017.1359704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C. Mullin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Stacey L. Simon
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
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Yin D, Liu W, Zeljic K, Lv Q, Wang Z, You M, Men W, Fan M, Cheng W, Wang Z. Failure in Cognitive Suppression of Negative Affect in Adolescents with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Sci Rep 2017; 7:6583. [PMID: 28747683 PMCID: PMC5529377 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07063-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/26/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hyperactivity of limbic (e.g., amygdalar) responses to negative stimuli has been implicated in the pathophysiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Evidence has also suggested that even a simple cognitive task involving emotionally salient stimuli can modulate limbic and prefrontal neural activation. However, whether neural modulation of emotional stimulus processing in a cognitive task is defective in adolescents with GAD has not yet been investigated. In this study, 20 adolescents with GAD and 14 comparable healthy controls underwent event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) coupled with an emotional valence evaluation task. During the evaluation of negative versus neutral stimuli, we found significant activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in healthy controls, while the bilateral amygdala was activated in GAD patients. Between-group analyses showed dramatically reduced task-activation of the right IFG in GAD patients, and the magnitude of IFG activity negatively correlated with symptom severity. Psychophysiological interaction analysis further revealed significantly decreased functional interaction between right IFG and anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in GAD patients compared with healthy controls. Taken together, our findings show failure to suppress negative affect by recruiting a cognitive distraction in adolescents with GAD, providing new insights into the pathophysiology of GAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dazhi Yin
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Wenjing Liu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Kristina Zeljic
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Qian Lv
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Zhiwei Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Meina You
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Weiwei Men
- Department of Physics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Mingxia Fan
- Department of Physics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Wenhong Cheng
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China. .,Department of Psychological Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, China.
| | - Zheng Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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Zhang P, Ni W, Xie R, Xu J, Liu X. Gender Differences in the Difficulty in Disengaging from Threat among Children and Adolescents With Social Anxiety. Front Psychol 2017; 8:419. [PMID: 28392773 PMCID: PMC5364171 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
There is some research showing that social anxiety is related with attentional bias to threat. However, others fail to find this relationship and propose that gender differences may play a role. The aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in the subcomponents of attentional bias to threat (hypervigilance and difficulty in disengaging) among children and adolescents with social anxiety. Overall, 181 youngsters aged between 10 and 14 participated in the current study. Images of disgusted faces were used as threat stimuli in an Exogenous Cueing Task was used to measure the subcomponents of attentional bias. Additionally, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children was used to measure social anxiety. The repeated measures ANOVA showed that male participants with high social anxiety showed difficulty in disengaging from threat, but this was not the case for female participants. Our results indicated that social anxiety is more related with attentional bias to threat among male children and adolescents than females. These findings suggested that developing gender-specific treatments for social anxiety may improve treatment effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Zhang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Wenjin Ni
- Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Ruibo Xie
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Jiahua Xu
- School of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Xiangping Liu
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
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Attention allocation and social worries predict interpretations of peer-related social cues in adolescents. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 25:105-112. [PMID: 28416273 PMCID: PMC5485637 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Across scenes, increasing social anxiety was associated with greater endorsement of negative interpretations. Greater attentional deployment to peers predicted increased endorsements of negative interpretations. Self-relevant scenes yielded more negative interpretations. Older adolescents selected more benign interpretations.
Adolescence is a sensitive period for increases in normative but also debilitating social fears and worries. As the interpretation of interpersonal cues is pertinent to social anxiety, investigating mechanisms that may underlie biases in social cue appraisal is important. Fifty-one adolescents from the community aged 14–19 were presented with self- and other-relevant naturalistic social scenes for 5 s and then required to rate either a negative or a positive interpretation of the scene. Eye-tracking data were collected during the free viewing period to index attentional deployment. Individual differences in social worries were measured via self-report. Social anxiety levels significantly predicted biases in interpretation ratings across scenes. Additionally, cumulative attentional deployment to peer cues also predicted these interpretation biases: participants who spent more time on facial displays perceived more threat, i.e. endorsed more negative and less positive interpretations. Self-relevant scenes yielded greater tendencies to draw negative interpretations. Finally, older adolescents also selected more benign interpretations. Social anxiety is associated with a bias in interpreting social cues; a cognitive bias that is also influenced by attentional deployment. This study contributes to our understanding of the possible attention mechanisms that shape cognitions relevant to social anxiety in this at-risk age group.
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Hummel AC, Premo JE, Kiel EJ. Attention to Threat as a Predictor of Shyness in the Context of Internalizing and Externalizing Problems. INFANCY 2017; 22:240-255. [PMID: 28936126 PMCID: PMC5602539 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The duration of children's attention to putative threat has been documented as a consistent predictor of later anxiety in inhibited children across childhood (Fox, 2010; Perez-Edgar & Fox, 2005). However, attention to threat has not been broadly examined within existing behavioral contexts, and has seldom been studied in very early childhood. Whereas toddlers with high levels of internalizing behavior may view fear-inducing stimuli as a threat, toddlers with high levels of externalizing behavior may demonstrate attention out of interest or sensation seeking. Thus, attention to threat was expected to predict increased toddler shyness in the context of either high internalizing problems or low externalizing behavior. We examined 117 24-month-old toddlers to determine whether attention to threat interacted with internalizing and externalizing behavior at 24 months of age to predict toddler shyness one year later. Results indicated that attention to threat predicted toddlers' lower shyness at 36 months when toddlers' externalizing behavior at age 24 months were high, but there was no significant interaction between toddlers' internalizing behavior and their attention to threat in predicting later shyness. These results expand our understanding of the contexts in which attention to threat in early childhood is a viable predictor of later shyness.
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De Voogd EL, Wiers RW, Salemink E. Online visual search attentional bias modification for adolescents with heightened anxiety and depressive symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. Behav Res Ther 2017; 92:57-67. [PMID: 28257982 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety and depression, which are highly prevalent in adolescence, are both characterized by a negative attentional bias. As Attentional Bias Modification (ABM) can reduce such a bias, and might also affect emotional reactivity, it could be a promising early intervention. However, a growing number of studies also report comparable improvements in both active and placebo groups. The current study investigated the effects of eight online sessions of visual search (VS) ABM compared to both a VS placebo-training and a no-training control group in adolescents with heightened symptoms of anxiety and/or depression (n = 108). Attention bias, interpretation bias, and stress-reactivity were assessed pre- and post-training. Primary outcomes of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and secondary measures of emotional resilience were assessed pre- and post-training and at three and six months follow-up. Results revealed that VS training reduced attentional bias compared to both control groups, with stronger effects for participants who completed more training sessions. Irrespective of training condition, an overall reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression and an increase in emotional resilience were observed up to six months later. The training was evaluated relatively negatively. Results suggest that online ABM as employed in the current study has no added value as an early intervention in adolescents with heightened symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- E L De Voogd
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15916, 1001 NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - R W Wiers
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15916, 1001 NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - E Salemink
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15916, 1001 NK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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50
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Sylvester CM, Hudziak JJ, Gaffrey MS, Barch DM, Luby JL. Stimulus-Driven Attention, Threat Bias, and Sad Bias in Youth with a History of an Anxiety Disorder or Depression. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 44:219-31. [PMID: 25702927 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-015-9988-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Attention biases towards threatening and sad stimuli are associated with pediatric anxiety and depression, respectively. The basic cognitive mechanisms associated with attention biases in youth, however, remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that threat bias (selective attention for threatening versus neutral stimuli) but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. We collected measures of stimulus-driven attention, threat bias, sad bias, and current clinical symptoms in youth with a history of an anxiety disorder and/or depression (ANX/DEP; n = 40) as well as healthy controls (HC; n = 33). Stimulus-driven attention was measured with a non-emotional spatial orienting task, while threat bias and sad bias were measured at a short time interval (150 ms) with a spatial orienting task using emotional faces and at a longer time interval (500 ms) using a dot-probe task. In ANX/DEP but not HC, early attention bias towards threat was negatively correlated with later attention bias to threat, suggesting that early threat vigilance was associated with later threat avoidance. Across all subjects, stimulus-driven orienting was not correlated with early threat bias but was negatively correlated with later threat bias, indicating that rapid stimulus-driven orienting is linked to later threat avoidance. No parallel relationships were detected for sad bias. Current symptoms of depression but not anxiety were related to decreased stimulus-driven attention. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that threat bias but not sad bias relies on stimulus-driven attention. These results inform the design of attention bias modification programs that aim to reverse threat biases and reduce symptoms associated with pediatric anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad M Sylvester
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, Campus Box 8511, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
| | - James J Hudziak
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, 1 South Prospect, UHC St. Joseph's Room 3213, Burlington, VT, 05401, USA
| | - Michael S Gaffrey
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, Campus Box 8511, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, Campus Box 8511, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.,Department of Psychology, Washington University School of Medicine, One Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1125, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.,Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, One Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1125, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Joan L Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, Campus Box 8511, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
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