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No significant evidence of cognitive biases for emotional stimuli in children at-risk of developing anxiety disorders

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posted on 2023-06-08, 23:56 authored by Donna L Ewing, Suzanne Dash, Ellen J Thompson, Cassie Hazell, Zoe Hughes, Kathryn LesterKathryn Lester, Samantha Cartwright-HattonSamantha Cartwright-Hatton
This paper explores whether the increased vulnerability of children of anxious parents to develop anxiety disorders may be partially explained by these children having increased cognitive biases towards threat compared with children of non-anxious parents. Parents completed questionnaires about their child’s anxiety symptoms. Children aged 5–9 (n = 85) participated in two cognitive bias tasks: 1) an emotion recognition task, and 2) an ambiguous situations questionnaire. For the emotion recognition task, there were no significant differences between at-risk children and children of non-anxious parents in their cognitive bias scores for reaction times or for accuracy in identifying angry or happy facial expressions. In addition, there were no significant differences between at-risk children and children of non-anxious parents in the number of threat interpretations made for the ambiguous situations questionnaire. It is possible that these cognitive biases only become present subsequent to the development of an anxiety disorder, or only in older at-risk children.

Funding

Anxiety Symptoms Prevention Investigation; National Institute for Health Research; CDF-2010-03-36

Medical Research Council; MR/J011762/1

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

ISSN

0091-0627

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Issue

7

Volume

44

Page range

1243-1252

Department affiliated with

  • Primary Care and Public Health Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-01-11

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-01-11

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-01-11

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