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Ginat-Frolich R, Gilboa-Schechtman E, Huppert JD, Aderka IM, Alden LE, Bar-Haim Y, Becker ES, Bernstein A, Geva R, Heimberg RG, Hofmann SG, Kashdan TB, Koster EHW, Lipsitz J, Maner JK, Moscovitch DA, Philippot P, Rapee RM, Roelofs K, Rodebaugh TL, Schneier FR, Schultheiss OC, Shahar B, Stangier U, Stein MB, Stopa L, Taylor CT, Weeks JW, Wieser MJ. Vulnerabilities in social anxiety: Integrating intra- and interpersonal perspectives. Clin Psychol Rev 2024; 109:102415. [PMID: 38493675 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
What are the major vulnerabilities in people with social anxiety? What are the most promising directions for translational research pertaining to this condition? The present paper provides an integrative summary of basic and applied translational research on social anxiety, emphasizing vulnerability factors. It is divided into two subsections: intrapersonal and interpersonal. The intrapersonal section synthesizes research relating to (a) self-representations and self-referential processes; (b) emotions and their regulation; and (c) cognitive biases: attention, interpretation and judgment, and memory. The interpersonal section summarizes findings regarding the systems of (a) approach and avoidance, (b) affiliation and social rank, and their implications for interpersonal impairments. Our review suggests that the science of social anxiety and, more generally, psychopathology may be advanced by examining processes and their underlying content within broad psychological systems. Increased interaction between basic and applied researchers to diversify and elaborate different perspectives on social anxiety is necessary for progress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Idan M Aderka
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Lynn E Alden
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Yair Bar-Haim
- School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Israel
| | - Eni S Becker
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Amit Bernstein
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Ronny Geva
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Israel
| | - Richard G Heimberg
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States of America
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, United States of America
| | - Todd B Kashdan
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Ernst H W Koster
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | | | - Jon K Maner
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Florida, United States of America
| | - David A Moscovitch
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Mental Health Research & Treatment, University of Waterloo, Canada
| | - Pierre Philippot
- Department of Psychology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
| | - Ronald M Rapee
- Centre for Emotional Health and School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands; Donders Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Thomas L Rodebaugh
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Franklin R Schneier
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Ben Shahar
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ulrich Stangier
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Murray B Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and School of Public Health, University of California San Diego, United States of America
| | - Lusia Stopa
- Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Charles T Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry and School of Public Health, University of California San Diego, United States of America
| | - Justin W Weeks
- Department of Psychology, Nebraska Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Polack RG, Bronstein MV, Questel M, Edelman A, Vinogradov S, Kober H, Joormann J, Everaert J. Social interpretation inflexibility moderates emotional reactions to social situations in children and adolescents. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2352-2364. [PMID: 37466071 PMCID: PMC10796842 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000834] [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] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Interpretation biases and inflexibility (i.e., difficulties revising interpretations) have been linked to increased internalizing symptoms. Although adolescence is a developmental period characterized by novel social situations and increased vulnerability to internalizing disorders, no studies have examined interpretation inflexibility in adolescents. Additionally, no studies (on adolescents or adults) have examined interpretation flexibility as a protective factor against adverse outcomes of interpersonal events. Using a novel task and a 28-day diary we examined relations among interpretation bias and inflexibility, internalizing symptoms, and negative interpersonal events in a sample of children and adolescents (N = 159, ages 9-18). At baseline, negative interpretation bias was positively correlated with social anxiety symptoms, and positive interpretation bias negatively correlated with social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Inflexible positive interpretations were correlated with higher social anxiety and depressive symptoms, while inflexible negative interpretations were correlated with higher social anxiety. Finally, interpretation inflexibility moderated daily associations between negative interpersonal events and depressive symptoms in daily life, such that higher inflexibility was associated with stronger associations between interpersonal events and subsequent depressive symptoms, potentially increasing depressive symptom instability. These results suggest that interpretation biases and inflexibility may act as both risk and protective factors for adolescent anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reuma Gadassi Polack
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
- School of Behavioral Sciences, Tel-Aviv Yaffo Academic College, Tel-Aviv Yaffo, Israel
| | - Michael V. Bronstein
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA
| | - Marcia Questel
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
| | - Audrey Edelman
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sophia Vinogradov
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA
| | - Hedy Kober
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jutta Joormann
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jonas Everaert
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
- Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, KU Leuven, Belgium
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3
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Beal EM, Slade P, Krahé C. Cognitive processing biases associated with fear of childbirth. J Anxiety Disord 2023; 99:102761. [PMID: 37690358 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102761] [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: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Fear of childbirth (FOC) is a phobic-like response concerning the prospect of giving birth. FOC can have negative implications for women during pregnancy and can impact their birthing experience. Cognitive processing biases (e.g., difficulty disengaging from threatening information, interpreting ambiguous information as threatening, and preferentially recalling threatening content) have previously been found to maintain general anxiety and low mood. To date, there has been no research assessing these attention, interpretation, and memory biases and their relationship with FOC in pregnant women. Accordingly, in this cross-sectional study, participants who were at least 12 weeks pregnant (n = 116), recruited through a local hospital trust, completed tasks assessing attention (emotional Stroop task), interpretation (scrambled sentences test), and explicit memory (recognition task) biases with materials including FOC-related content. They also completed three separate measures of FOC and measures of low mood, general anxiety, worry, and rumination. We found that a negative interpretation bias (but not attention or explicit memory biases) was associated with higher levels of FOC. These findings indicate that women presenting with higher FOC are more likely to demonstrate negative interpretation biases for ambiguous information relating to childbirth, which may inform research developing interventions to support women presenting with FOC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin M Beal
- Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Pauline Slade
- Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte Krahé
- Department of Primary Care and Mental Health, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.
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Rapee RM, Creswell C, Kendall PC, Pine DS, Waters AM. Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A summary and overview of the literature. Behav Res Ther 2023; 168:104376. [PMID: 37499294 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Considerable work has advanced understanding of the nature, causes, management, and prevention of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents over the past 30 years. Prior to this time the primary focus was on school refusal and specific phobias. It is now recognised that children and adolescents experience the full gamut of anxiety disorders in very similar ways to adults and that anxiety disorders in the paediatric years can predict a lifelong mental-health struggle. Given the vast array of specific studies in this field, the current review summarises current knowledge about these high prevalence disorders, points to overarching limitations, and suggests potentially important future directions. Following a brief historical overview, the review summarises knowledge about demographic and epidemiological characteristics, distal and proximal risk factors, current treatment directions, and prevention. There is still a great deal to learn about the causes and treatments of child and adolescent anxiety disorders. By amalgamating our current knowledge, this review provides a window to the research directions that are likely to lead to future advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald M Rapee
- Centre for Emotional Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Cathy Creswell
- Departments of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Philip C Kendall
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic, USA
| | - Daniel S Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP), USA
| | - Allison M Waters
- School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
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Dapprich AL, Becker ES, Derks LM, Legenbauer T, Lange WG. Specific interpretation biases as a function of social anxiety and callous-unemotional traits in a community and a clinical adolescent sample. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2023; 17:46. [PMID: 37004075 PMCID: PMC10064950 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-023-00585-z] [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: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Threatening and hostile interpretation biases are seen as causal and maintaining mechanisms of childhood anxiety and aggression, respectively. However, it is unclear whether these interpretation biases are specific to distinct problems or whether they are general psychopathological phenomena. The specificity versus pervasiveness of interpretation biases could also differ depending on mental health status. Therefore, in the current study, we investigated whether social anxiety and callous-unemotional (CU) traits were uniquely related to threatening and hostile interpretation biases, respectively, in both a community and a clinical sample of adolescents. METHODS A total of 161 adolescents between 10 to 15 years of age participated. The community sample consisted of 88 participants and the clinical sample consisted of 73 inpatients with a variety of psychological disorders. Social anxiety and CU-traits were assessed with self-report questionnaires. The Ambiguous Social Scenario Task was used to measure both threatening and hostile interpretations in response to written vignettes. RESULTS Results showed that social anxiety was uniquely related to more threatening interpretations, while CU-traits were uniquely related to more hostile interpretations. These relationships were replicated for the community sample. For the clinical sample, only the link between social anxiety and threatening interpretations was significant. Explorative analyses showed that adolescents with externalizing disorders scored higher on hostile interpretations than adolescents with internalizing disorders. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these results support the content-specificity of threatening interpretation biases in social anxiety and of hostile interpretation biases in CU-traits. Better understanding the roles of interpretation biases in different psychopathologies might open avenues for tailored prevention and intervention paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L Dapprich
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Eni S Becker
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Laura M Derks
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- LWL-University Hospital Hamm for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Tanja Legenbauer
- LWL-University Hospital Hamm for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Wolf-Gero Lange
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Krahé C, Meeten F, Hirsch CR. Development and psychometric evaluation of a scrambled sentences test specifically for worry in individuals with generalised anxiety disorder. J Anxiety Disord 2022; 91:102610. [PMID: 36029530 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2022.102610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The tendency to draw negative conclusions from ambiguous information (interpretation bias) is prevalent across emotional disorders and plays a key role in the development and maintenance of pathological worry and anxious mood. Assessing interpretation bias using valid and reliable measures is central to empirical research. A commonly used measure of interpretation bias is the scrambled sentences test (SST), originally relating to depression. Given the association between interpretation bias and worry, we aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate a new version of the SST with items pertaining to common worry domains for use in worry and anxiety research. In Studies 1-3 (analogue samples, combined N = 288), the new worry SST showed excellent construct validity (moderate-to-strong associations with worry and anxiety-related measures), and reliability (split-half and test-retest reliability). We confirmed construct validity in Study 4 (N = 215 individuals with generalised anxiety disorder). Furthermore, we demonstrated version specificity in analogue and clinical samples: the worry SST was associated with trait worry but not trait rumination, while the original depression SST largely showed the opposite pattern. Overall, the new worry SST is a psychometrically robust measure that may be especially useful for research into cognitive processes underpinning worry and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Krahé
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Frances Meeten
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Colette R Hirsch
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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7
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Smith AR, Jones EL, Subar AR, Do QB, Kircanski K, Leibenluft E, Brotman MA, Pine DS, Silk JS. The role of anxiety and gender in anticipation and avoidance of naturalistic anxiety-provoking experiences during adolescence: An ecological momentary assessment study. JCPP ADVANCES 2022; 2:e12084. [PMID: 37431391 PMCID: PMC10242842 DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Anxiety symptoms often increase in late childhood/early adolescence, particularly among girls. However, few studies examine anxiety-relevant gender differences during anticipation and avoidance of naturalistic experiences during adolescence. The current study uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine associations among clinical anxiety, gender, anticipation, and attempted avoidance of person-specific anxiety-provoking experiences in youth ages 8-18. Method 124 youth (73 girls) completed 7 consecutive days of EMA. Seventy participants (42 girls) met criteria for one or more anxiety disorders, while the remaining 54 were healthy controls (31 girls). Participants reported the experience that they were "most worried about happening that day" and completed ratings about that event including whether they attempted to avoid that experience. Multilevel models examined whether diagnostic group (anxious, healthy), gender (boys, girls), or their interaction predicted anticipatory ratings or avoidance of these experiences. Results Analyses revealed significant diagnostic group by gender interactions for anticipatory ratings. Specifically, anxious girls reported greater worry and predicted more negative outcomes related to future experiences. However, only a main effect of diagnostic group emerged for attempted avoidance. Finally, anticipatory worry predicted higher rates of attempted avoidance, but this association did not vary by diagnostic group, gender, or their interaction. Conclusion These findings extend the literature on the interplay of anticipation and avoidance to person-specific naturalistic experiences in pediatric anxiety. They reveal that anxious girls report more anticipatory anxiety and worry, while avoidance of real-world anxiety-provoking scenarios is a key concern for anxious youth independent of gender. By using EMA to examine person-specific anxiety-inducing experiences we can begin to understand how these processes and experiences unfold in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley R. Smith
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Emily L. Jones
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of DenverDenverColoradoUSA
| | - Anni R. Subar
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of DenverDenverColoradoUSA
| | - Quyen B. Do
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Katharina Kircanski
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Melissa A. Brotman
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Jennifer S. Silk
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
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8
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Subar AR, Humphrey K, Rozenman M. Is interpretation bias for threat content specific to youth anxiety symptoms/diagnoses? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2022; 31:1341-1352. [PMID: 33616762 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-021-01740-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety is the most common mental health problem in youth. Numerous studies have identified that youth anxiety is associated with interpretation bias or the attribution of threatening meaning to ambiguity. Interpretation bias has been proposed as a mechanism underlying the development and maintenance of pediatric anxiety. Theoretically, interpretation bias should be content-specific to individual youth anxiety symptom domains. However, extant studies have reported conflicting findings of whether interpretation bias is indeed content specific to youth anxiety symptoms or diagnoses. The present meta-analysis aimed to synthesize the literature and answer the question: is the relationship between interpretation bias and anxiety content specific? Search of PubMed and PsycINFO databases from January 1, 1960 through May 28, 2019 yielded 9967 citations, of which 19 studies with 20 comparisons and 2976 participants met eligibility criteria. Meta-analysis with random effects models was conducted to examine an overall effect (Pearson r) between anxiety domain and content-specific interpretation bias in single sample studies, and an overall effect size difference (Cohen's d) in studies comparing anxious to non-anxious youth. Results support a content specific correlation between interpretation bias and anxiety symptom domain in single sample studies (r = 0.18, p = 0.03). However, it is currently undetermined whether this relationship holds in studies that compare the relationship between content-specific interpretation bias and anxiety in anxious versus non-anxious youth. A variety of methodologic considerations across studies are discussed, with implications for further investigation of interpretation bias and youth anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni R Subar
- Behavioral Research for Anxiety InterVention Efficiency (BRAVE) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race St., Denver, CO, 80210, USA.
| | - Kaeli Humphrey
- Behavioral Research for Anxiety InterVention Efficiency (BRAVE) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race St., Denver, CO, 80210, USA
| | - Michelle Rozenman
- Behavioral Research for Anxiety InterVention Efficiency (BRAVE) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race St., Denver, CO, 80210, USA
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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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10
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Henricks LA, Lange WG, Luijten M, Becker ES. A New Social Picture Task to Assess Interpretation Bias related to social fears in adolescents. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2022; 50:1067-1080. [PMID: 35435540 PMCID: PMC9013980 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-00915-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
This pre-registered study focused on developing a new social picture task to assess interpretation bias related to social fears in adolescents. Using such a pictorial task may increase ecological validity and readily trigger emotional processes compared to more traditional verbal tasks that are often used. In the picture task, ambiguous social pictures were presented, followed by a positive and negative interpretation. In this study, we examined how the new task relates to an already existing interpretation bias task and how the new pictorial task relates to social fears in adolescents. The sample consisted of 329 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Interpretation bias was assessed with the newly developed pictorial task and with more traditional verbal vignettes. Social fears were measured with self-report questionnaires. The results suggest that the pictorial task was able to assess interpretation bias comparable to the verbal vignettes, suggesting appropriate convergent validity. Interpretation bias assessed with the picture task was linked to higher levels of fear of negative evaluation, the core symptom of social anxiety, but not to social anxiety symptoms in general. The verbal task was linked to both social fears and thus still seems the preferred method to investigate interpretation bias related to social fears in adolescents. However, we do believe that with further improvement of the pictorial task, it could be a useful addition to the research field.
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11
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Interpersonal Cognitive Biases in Children and Young People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Review. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s40474-021-00239-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose of Review
Interpersonal cognitive biases have been linked to externalising and internalising problems. This systematic review investigates their role in children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), who have a high risk of experiencing such problems.
Recent Findings
With 16 identified studies, this is a widely under-recognised research area. The three studies conducted within the last 5 years focused on threat interpretation and its association with anxiety. No difference between children and young people with and without NDD was found in the eleven studies investigating hostile attribution of intent, of which the most recent is nearly a decade old. No studies addressed attention or memory bias towards ambiguous interpersonal information.
Summary
The scarcity and heterogeneity of research highlighted in this paper demonstrate the urgency to use standardised and accessible research methods to develop a strong evidence base regarding the potential content-specific interpretation bias in individuals with NDD.
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12
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Hirsch CR, Meeten F, Gordon C, Newby JM, Bick D, Moulds ML. Repetitive Negative Thinking and Interpretation Bias in Pregnancy. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY IN EUROPE 2020; 2:e3615. [PMID: 36398060 PMCID: PMC9645466 DOI: 10.32872/cpe.v2i4.3615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Repetitive negative thinking (RNT; e.g., worry about the future, rumination about the past) and the tendency to interpret ambiguous information in negative ways (interpretation bias) are cognitive processes that play a maintaining role in anxiety and depression, and recent evidence has demonstrated that interpretation bias maintains RNT. In the context of perinatal mental health, RNT has received minimal research attention (despite the fact that it predicts later anxiety and depression), and interpretation bias remains unstudied (despite evidence that it maintains depression and anxiety which are common in this period). Method We investigated the relationship between RNT, interpretation bias and psychopathology (depression, anxiety) in a pregnant sample (n = 133). We also recruited an age-matched sample of non-pregnant women (n = 104), to examine whether interpretation bias associated with RNT emerges for ambiguous stimuli regardless of its current personal relevance (i.e., pregnancy or non-pregnancy-related). Results As predicted, for pregnant women, negative interpretation bias, RNT, depression and anxiety were all positively associated. Interpretation bias was evident to the same degree for material that was salient (pregnancy-related) and non-salient (general), and pregnant and non-pregnant women did not differ. RNT was associated with interpretation bias for all stimuli and across the full sample. Conclusion Our findings highlight the need to further investigate the impact of interpretation bias in pregnant women, and test the effectiveness of interventions which promote positive interpretations in reducing RNT in the perinatal period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colette R. Hirsch
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Frances Meeten
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Calum Gordon
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jill M. Newby
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Black Dog Institute, Hospital Road Randwick, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Debra Bick
- Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
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13
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Baartmans JMD, van Steensel FJA, Mobach L, Lansu TAM, Bijsterbosch G, Verpaalen I, Rapee RM, Magson N, Bögels SM, Rinck M, Klein AM. Social anxiety and perceptions of likeability by peers in children. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 38:319-336. [PMID: 32064647 PMCID: PMC7216937 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The current study aimed to investigate the discrepancy between self-reported and peer-reported likeability among children, and the relation with social anxiety, depression, and social support. In total, 532 children between 7 and 12 years completed questionnaires about social anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and social support, estimated their own likeability, and indicated how much they liked their classmates. Children with higher levels of social anxiety or depression overestimated their likeability less or even underestimated their likeability. Social anxiety symptoms, but not depressive symptoms, were significant predictors of the discrepancy. Social support was positively related to likeability and negatively related to social anxiety, but did not moderate the association between social anxiety symptoms and perception accuracy of likeability. These results are in line with cognitive theories of childhood social anxiety, and they stress the importance of using multi-informant measures when studying the relation between social anxiety and social functioning in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanine M. D. Baartmans
- Developmental PsychologyUniversity of AmsterdamThe Netherlands
- UvA Minds Academic Treatment CenterAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | | | - Lynn Mobach
- Behavioural Science InstituteRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Centre for Emotional HealthMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Tessa A. M. Lansu
- Behavioural Science InstituteRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | | | - Iris Verpaalen
- Behavioural Science InstituteRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Ronald M. Rapee
- Centre for Emotional HealthMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Natasha Magson
- Centre for Emotional HealthMacquarie UniversitySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Susan M. Bögels
- Developmental PsychologyUniversity of AmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Mike Rinck
- Behavioural Science InstituteRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Anke M. Klein
- Developmental PsychologyUniversity of AmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Behavioural Science InstituteRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
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