An examination of worry in relation to anxious responding to voluntary hyperventilation among adolescents

Greater adolescent tiredness is related to more emotional arousal during a hyperventilation task: An area under the curve approach

INTRODUCTION

Approximately 36% of adolescents report sleep problems (Crowley et al., 2018). Understanding the relation between sleep and emotional experience is crucial in understanding the high incidence of mental health concerns during adolescence. The current study sought to expand understanding in the area by testing the hypothesis that baseline tiredness ratings would predict greater emotional arousal and negative valence across the course of emotional response elicited by a voluntary hyperventilation procedure.

METHODS

A community sample of 110 youth (10-18 years; 47.8% girls) provided baseline tiredness ratings and ratings of emotional valence and arousal, 2 min before, immediately after, and 3 min after a hyperventilation task. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated using the repeated measures of valence and arousal, and correlations between the response curves and baseline tiredness were examined.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicated baseline tiredness was positively associated with AUC arousal (r = 0.23), but not valence. This suggests daytime tiredness is associated with the degree of emotional arousal elicited by a psychobiological stressor. By extension, adolescents may experience more arousing emotional reactions when tired, and thus the common sleep deprivation observed during this developmental period may increase risk for mental health problems associated with elevated emotional reactivity.

Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance Across Gender and Age-Group of the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire-Children (PTQ-C) in Colombia

Recent research has found that repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is an important transdiagnostic process both in adult and child psychopathology. This finding has led some authors to design content-independent measures of RNT that can be administered across disorders. One of these instruments is the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) and its version for children (PTQ-C). This study presents the Spanish translation of the PTQ-C and its psychometric analysis in a sample of 1,127 Colombian children and adolescents (8-18 years old). All items obtained good discrimination indexes, and internal consistency was excellent (.93). A cross-validation study was conducted to analyze the factor structure of the PTQ-C, which strongly supported the one-factor structure. Measurement invariances across gender and age-group (8-12 and 13-18 years old) were also found. The PTQ-C scores for older boys were lower than for younger boys, whereas the inverse pattern was found for girls. The PTQ-C showed strong correlations with measures of pathological worry, emotional symptoms, and psychological inflexibility. In conclusion, the Spanish translation of the PTQ-C appears to be a valid and reliable measure of RNT.

The role of anxiety sensitivity, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive biases in anxiety symptoms: structural equation modeling of direct and indirect pathways

OBJECTIVE(S)

Limited research has examined how temperamental (i.e., behavioral inhibition, anxiety sensitivity) and cognitive (i.e., interpretive and judgment biases) risks for the development anxiety covary to influence anxiety symptoms. Thus, the present study aimed to advance understanding of the direct and indirect links between anxiety sensitivity, behavioral inhibition, and interpretive biases, and judgment biases (in the form of perceived control) to anxiety outcomes (i.e., worry and trait anxiety symptoms).

METHOD

842 emerging adults (mean = 18.75 years, standard deviation = 1.05; age range = 18-24; 70% women) recruited from a university in the northeast participated in this study. Participants completed a battery of self-report measures assessing risk factors and anxiety outcomes of interest.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling revealed anxiety sensitivity and behavioral inhibition were directly linked with anxiety outcomes. Anxiety sensitivity and behavioral inhibition were also indirectly linked with anxiety outcomes through interpretive and judgment biases. The hypothesized model was partially invariant across high-risk and low-risk groups for anxiety disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this study provide preliminary support for theoretical models hypothesizing a developmental progression from temperamental to cognitive risks and culminating in the expression of anxiety symptoms. Limitations and clinical implications of this research are discussed.

Sleep deprivation in adolescents and adults: changes in affect

The present study investigated the impact of sleep deprivation on several aspects of affective functioning in healthy participants selected from three different developmental periods: early adolescence (ages 10-13), midadolescence (ages 13-16), and adulthood (ages 30-60). Participants completed an affective functioning battery under conditions of sleep deprivation (a maximum of 6.5 hours total sleep time on the first night followed by a maximum of 2 hours total sleep time on the second night) and rest (approximately 7-8 hours total sleep time each night for two consecutive nights). Less positive affect was observed in the sleep-deprived, compared to rested, condition. This effect held for 9 of the 12 positive affect items on the PANAS-C. Participants also reported a greater increase in anxiety during a catastrophizing task and rated the likelihood of potential catastrophes as higher when sleep deprived, relative to when rested. Early adolescents appraised their main worry as more threatening when sleep deprived, relative to when rested. These results support and extend previous research underscoring the adverse affective consequences of sleep deprivation.

Listen to your heart beat and shiver! An experimental study of anxiety-related emotional reasoning in children

The present study investigated anxiety-related emotional reasoning in 9-13-year-old children using an experimental approach. Eighty-one children completed a computerized ambiguous situations test for assessing their perception of threat under two conditions. In the experimental condition, children were attached to an apparatus that allegedly recorded their heart beat, the sound of which was presented to them via headphones. In the control condition, children listened to the sound of an African djembe drum while completing the ambiguous situations test. It was found that children in the experimental condition generally provided higher threat ratings than children in the control condition, and this difference remained significant when controlling for levels of anxiety sensitivity, panic and other anxiety symptoms. These results are in keeping with the idea that children may partially rely on internal physical sensations when evaluating the dangerousness of ambiguous events.

Relations among perceived control over anxiety-related events, worry, and generalized anxiety disorder in a sample of adolescents

This study examined the associations among perceived control over anxiety-related events, worry, and both symptoms and diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The sample was comprised of 140 adolescents (60 girls) between the ages of 10 and 17 years (M ( age ) = 14.6 years; SD = 2.25) recruited from the general community. Findings were consistent with hypotheses. Self-reported perceived control over anxiety-related events related negatively to worry as well as symptoms and diagnoses of GAD even after accounting for variance associated with age, gender, and negative affectivity. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical implications that perceived control over anxiety-related events may have for understanding GAD symptomatology among youth.

Fears of cognitive dyscontrol and publicly observable anxiety symptoms: depression predictors in moderate-to-high worriers

This study examined the relation between dimensions of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and depression symptoms in 94 moderate-to-high worriers (mean age=19.02 years, SD=2.07; age range=18-36; 76.6% females). Two hypotheses were tested: (1) AS as a unitary construct would significantly predict depression symptoms even after controlling for worry and GAD symptoms, and (2) the fear of cognitive dyscontrol and the fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions dimensions of AS would significantly predict depression symptoms even after controlling for worry and GAD symptoms. Consistent with hypotheses, hierarchical linear multiple regressions showed that AS as a unitary construct, as well as the fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions and fear of cognitive dyscontrol dimensions, significantly predicted depression symptoms even after controlling for worry and GAD symptoms. A discussion of findings in the context of the specificity and nonspecificity of AS is provided, along with potential implications for clinicians and researchers working with moderate-to-high worriers.

Dimensions of Negative Thinking and the Relations with Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

The current study sought to examine three forms of negative, repetitive thinking in non-clinical children and adolescents aged between 10 and 18. More specifically, this study addressed the degree to which stress-reactive rumination can be differentiated from other forms of repetitive thinking, such as emotion-focused rumination and worry, and the associations between the various indices of repetitive thinking and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires including measures of stress-reactive rumination, emotion-focused rumination, worry, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results showed that stress-reactive rumination, emotion-focused rumination and worry are related but distinct forms of repetitive negative thinking. Positive associations were found between all indices of repetitive thinking and symptoms of depression and anxiety, but the effects of emotion-focused rumination disappeared when controlling for the other forms of repetitive thinking. The findings are discussed in the light of current theories and previous research, and directions for future research are provided.

The interactive effect of anxiety sensitivity and frequency of marijuana use in terms of anxious responding to bodily sensations among youth

Marijuana use is associated with anxiety, particularly among those anxiety conditions in which panic is common. It may therefore be that risk factors for panic increase the likelihood that marijuana users will experience problematic anxiety symptoms. The current study investigated the role of one such risk factor, anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the extent to which an individual is frightened of anxiety symptoms. We examined whether AS interacts with frequency of marijuana use to increase anxious responding (using a three-minute voluntary hyperventilation procedure). The sample consisted of 153 adolescents (46.4% female) ages 11-17 (M=14.92, S.D.=1.49). As predicted, AS moderated the link between lifetime marijuana use frequency and both post-challenge physiological anxiety (as indexed by skin conductance) and post-challenge subjective anxiety in female (but not male) adolescents such that those with high AS and more frequent marijuana use demonstrated the highest level of challenge-induced fear response. This effect remained even after controlling for relevant variables (e.g., age, trait anxiety, lifetime alcohol and cigarette use). Present findings suggest AS appears to serve as an important and potentially specific anxiety-related variable that deserves serious attention as a potential vulnerability factor among frequent marijuana-using females.

Perceived attachment: relations to anxiety sensitivity, worry, and GAD symptoms

This investigation examined the relation between perceived alienation from parents and peers, anxiety sensitivity (AS), and current worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms with the goal of expanding the knowledge base on factors that may contribute to the development of AS and its role in worry. The mediating role of AS between perceptions of alienation and current worry and GAD symptoms was also examined. Ninety-four non-clinical worriers completed self-report questionnaires assessing their perceptions of attachment, AS levels, and worry and GAD symptoms. Even after controlling for worry and GAD symptoms, greater perceptions of alienation from mothers and peers were significantly associated with higher AS symptoms. AS as a unitary construct mediated the relation between perceptions of alienation from mothers and peers and worry and GAD symptoms. The facets fear of publicly observable symptoms and fear of cognitive dyscontrol also mediated this relation. The role of alienation in relation to AS, worry, and GAD symptoms is discussed along with directions for future research.

Theory-of-mind, cognitive development, and children's interpretation of anxiety-related physical symptoms

The present study investigated developmental patterns in children's interpretation of anxiety-related physical symptoms and emotional reasoning, and to what extent these phenomena are influenced by children's level of cognitive development. A large sample of 4-13-year-old children (N=358) were exposed to vignettes in which the presence and absence of physical symptoms was systematically varied. In addition, children completed a series of conservation tasks and a theory-of-mind-test. Results demonstrated that from the age of 7, children were increasingly able to link physical symptoms to anxiety. Furthermore, cognitive development appeared to enhance children's ability to interpret physical symptoms as a sign of anxiety. Further, children's tendency to infer danger from vignettes with physical symptoms (i.e., emotional reasoning) was already prominent in 4-6-year-olds. The implications for physical symptom-based theories of childhood anxiety are briefly discussed.

Risk-factor research and prevention programs for anxiety disorders: A translational research framework

The aim of the present essay is to discuss the interconnection between risk-factor research and prevention program development for panic-spectrum psychopathology. We argue that prevention of panic-spectrum psychopathology specifically, and anxiety disorders more generally, is likely to be best advanced through active, systematic translation of basic, risk-factor research. After operationalizing key terminology, we present some exemplar risk-factor candidates for panic-spectrum psychopathology, summarize research related to their role as risk-factors for panic problems, and link this discussion to risk-factor nomenclature. We then present a translational framework for extrapolating extant knowledge on these and other potential risk-factors for panic-spectrum psychopathology with respect to the development of preventative interventions. The proposed translational framework is intended to describe a forward-feeding process by which risk-factor research could be used by clinical researchers to inform prevention programs; and reciprocally, how such prevention knowledge could be most effectively utilized to drive new, clinically focused risk-factor research.