Daniel Rudaizky

Biased attentional engagement with, and disengagement from, negative information: Independent cognitive pathways to anxiety vulnerability?

Cognitive models of anxiety propose that selective attention to negative information plays a causal role in heightened anxiety vulnerability and dysfunction. However, there has been theoretical disagreement concerning whether anxiety-linked attentional biases reflect enhanced attentional engagement with, or impaired attentional disengagement from, negative information. We contend that previous methodologies have not been optimal in terms of their capacity to differentiate both types of bias. The present study introduces a refined methodology, in which the conventional dot-probe task is modified in a novel manner to enable the independent assessment of these components of attention. The findings demonstrate that facilitated attentional engagement and impaired attentional disengagement are both characteristic of elevated levels of anxiety vulnerability. Moreover, these prove to be unrelated facets of attentional selectivity that independently contribute to variation in anxiety vulnerability. We discuss the possibility that these two types of attentional bias may represent independent pathways to anxiety vulnerability.

Anxiety reactivity and anxiety perseveration represent dissociable dimensions of trait anxiety.

Trait anxiety is an individual-difference variable reflecting variation in state-anxiety elevations resulting from exposure to a stressor. It is usually measured using questionnaire instruments, such as the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). The present research conceptually distinguishes, and independently assesses, two hypothetical dimensions of anxiety vulnerability which, it is argued, could plausibly make independent contributions to variance in trait-anxiety scores. These dimensions are anxiety reactivity, the probability of experiencing an anxiety reaction to a stressor, and anxiety perseveration, the persistence of anxiety symptoms once elicited. Participants were asked three questions about each STAI-T item. The traditional STAI-T question assessed how much of the time this symptom was experienced; the anxiety-reactivity question assessed the probability of experiencing the symptom in response to a stressor; and the anxiety-perseveration question assessed how long the symptom persisted, if elicited. Regression analysis determined that anxiety reactivity and anxiety perseveration scores both accounted for independent variance in trait-anxiety scores. It is argued that models of anxiety vulnerability should seek to differentiate both the causes and the consequences of elevated anxiety reactivity and increased anxiety perseveration.

Assessing the Therapeutic Potential of Targeted Attentional Bias Modification for Insomnia Using Smartphone Delivery

Creation of experimental word stimuli Research assessing the presence of attentional bias in insomnia has consistently employed paired word stimuli that contain a threatening member, which communicates a meaning relevant to the concerns of those with sleep disturbance, and an emotionally neutral stimulus member (see [1]). In line with this, we included 48 threatening sleeprelated words characteristic of pre-sleep worry thoughts, paired with neutral words matched for length and spoken frequency [2] for the purpose of modification and assessment of attentional bias. The threat words were selected from an initial pool of 96 candidate words. These words were generated on the basis of three factors identified by Wicklow and Espie [3] as core themes relevant to presleep worry consistently reported by individuals with insomnia: active problem solving (e.g. thoughts about the negative consequences of poor sleep), present-state monitoring (e.g. thoughts about bodily functions), and reactivity to external stimuli (e.g. thoughts about environmental factors disturbing sleep). All 96 candidate words were rated by 12 independent judges using a 7-point scale on emotional valence, from 1 (Very negative) to 7 (Very positive) and relatedness to sleep concerns, from 1 (Not at all) to 7 (Extremely). The final selected threat words were rated to be strongest in negative valence (M = 2.35, SD = 0.78) and most relevant to sleep concerns (M = 4.67, SD = 0.93). The word pairs were randomised and divided into two separate stimulus subsets (Subset A and Subset B). For half the participants in each condition Subset A was used in the training/control component and Subset B was used in the assessment component of the task, while the remaining participants received the reverse allocation. The use of different stimuli in the training and assessment components ensures that any change in attentional bias can be attributed to the class of stimulus and not to specific stimuli themselves. These stimuli are provided in Supplementary Table 1.

Confusing procedures with process when appraising the impact of cognitive bias modification on emotional vulnerability

If meta-analysis is to provide valuable answers, then it is critical to ensure clarity about the questions being asked. Here, we distinguish two important questions concerning cognitive bias modification research that are not differentiated in the meta-analysis recently published by Cristea et al (2015) in this journal: (1) do the varying procedures that investigators have employed with the intention of modifying cognitive bias, on average, significantly impact emotional vulnerability?; and (2) does the process of successfully modifying cognitive bias, on average, significantly impact emotional vulnerability? We reanalyse the data from Cristea et al to address this latter question. Our new analyses demonstrate that successfully modifying cognitive bias does significantly alter emotional vulnerability. We revisit Cristea et als conclusions in light of these findings.

Anxiety reactivity and anxiety perseveration represent independent dimensions of anxiety vulnerability: an in vivo study

Trait anxiety is a relatively stable disposition reflecting an individuals tendency to experience anxious symptomatology, typically measured using questionnaires such as the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). While trait anxiety commonly is considered a unitary construct, recent questionnaire research suggests that two different dimensions of anxiety vulnerability account for independent variance in trait anxiety scores. These dimensions are anxiety reactivity (AR), reflecting the intensity of anxiety reactions to stressors, and anxiety perseveration (AP), reflecting the persistence of anxiety symptoms. This study investigated whether in vivo measures of these two facets independently contribute to anxiety vulnerability. Seventy-two participants were exposed to a novel stress task designed to yield measures of AR and AP. Regression analysis determined that these in vivo measures were unrelated to each other, and each accounted for independent variance in trait anxiety scores. The implications of these findings for the assessment and understanding of anxiety vulnerability are discussed.

Emotion in Motion: A gamified approach for the modification of attentional bias. (Preprint)

Background Individuals with heightened anxiety vulnerability tend to preferentially attend to emotionally negative information, with evidence suggesting that this attentional bias makes a causal contribution to anxiety vulnerability. Recent years have seen an increase in the use of attentional bias modification (ABM) procedures to modify patterns of attentional bias; however, often this change in bias is not successfully achieved. Objective This study presents a novel ABM procedure, Emotion-in-Motion, requiring individuals to engage in patterns of attentional scanning and tracking within a gamified, complex, and dynamic environment. We aimed to examine the capacity of this novel procedure, as compared with the traditional probe-based ABM procedure, to produce a change in attentional bias and result in a change in anxiety vulnerability. Methods We administered either an attend-positive or attend-negative version of our novel ABM task or the conventional probe-based ABM task to undergraduate students (N=110). Subsequently, participants underwent an anagram stressor task, with state anxiety assessed before and following this stressor. Results Although the conventional ABM task failed to induce differential patterns of attentional bias or affect anxiety vulnerability, the Emotion-in-Motion training did induce a greater attentional bias to negative faces in the attend-negative training condition than in the attend-positive training condition (P=.003, Cohen d=0.87) and led to a greater increase in stressor-induced state anxiety faces in the attend-negative training condition than in the attend-positive training condition (P=.03, Cohen d=0.60). Conclusions Our novel, gamified Emotion-in-Motion ABM task appears more effective in modifying patterns of attentional bias and anxiety vulnerability. Candidate mechanisms contributing to these findings are discussed, including the increased stimulus complexity, dynamic nature of the stimulus presentation, and enriched performance feedback.

E-cigarette product preferences among Australian young adult e-cigarette users.

Objective: To assess preferences for e‐cigarettes containing nicotine and flavourings among Australian young adult e‐cigarette users.

The Characteristics and Age Effects of Emotional Lability in ADHD Children With and Without Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Objective: This study evaluated the concurrent validity of emotional lability (EL) in children with ADHD. Method: A total of 2,015 children with ADHD and 745 typically developed controls (TDCs) were assessed and compared on EL. Results: ADHD participants expressed higher EL scores than TDCs, not influenced by gender or IQ. Higher levels of EL symptoms were found in children with comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and with ADHD-combined subtype. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed a strong screening efficacy of EL symptoms on ADHD. The effect of developmental age on EL showed a desisting pattern in TDCs, as opposed to a persisting pattern in ADHD (not influenced by ODD comorbid status). ODD symptoms in ADHD showed an ascending pattern. Conclusion: EL can potentially serve as a sentinel index for the presence of ADHD, especially when the ADHD presentation is atypical. ODD may embody a developmental entity distinct from EL.