Developmental Trajectories of Anxiety Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Influence of Anxiety Sensitivity

Children and adolescents seem to suffer from anxiety disorders at rates similar to adults. Interestingly, anxiety symptoms appear to generally decline over time within children as evidenced by lower rates in early and middle adolescence. There is some evidence that there may be heterogeneous subpopulations of adolescent children with different trajectories of anxiety symptoms, including a class of adolescents with elevated levels of anxiety that do not dissipate over time. Anxiety sensitivity has been identified as an important risk factor in the development of anxiety psychopathology. This study prospectively examined the development of anxiety symptoms in a sample of 277 adolescents (M _age?=?11.52; 44 % female, 56 % male) over a 3 year period including the influence of anxiety sensitivity on this development. Further, this study investigated whether there were distinct classes of adolescents based on their anxiety symptom trajectories and including anxiety sensitivity as a predictor. Consistent with other reports, findings indicated an overall decline in anxiety symptoms over time in the sample. However, three classes of adolescents were found with distinct anxiety symptom trajectories and anxiety sensitivity was an important predictor of class membership. Adolescents with elevated anxiety sensitivity scores were more likely to be classified as having high and increasing anxiety symptoms over time versus having moderate to low and decreasing anxiety symptoms over time. There are important implications for identification of adolescents and children who are at risk for the development of an anxiety disorder.     

焦虑对社会决策行为的影响

焦虑是在人类日常生活中常见的一种负性情绪。探讨焦虑情绪在个人生活和工作中扮演的角色, 是生理学界和心理学界的一项重要课题。过往研究显示焦虑水平的提高会对社会能力和社交技巧造成显著的影响。在社会决策领域中, 这种影响的具体表现是高焦虑者比低焦虑者更倾向于采取回避风险的策略。但是, 过往研究主要关心包含经济因素的社会决策, 而对其他类型的社会行为的探索存在不足。以下问题值得未来研究者们关注：在个体层面上, 高焦虑者是否会更容易受到外界信息的影响, 表现出更强的从众行为和权威依从倾向, 与他人进行社会比较或社会竞争的动机是否会被削弱？在群体层面上, 高焦虑者是否更容易表现出人际信任, 以及是否会表现出更强的服从集体倾向？考察这些问题将会为针对焦虑情绪的认知研究和临床研究起到促进作用。     

考试焦虑对错误记忆的影响

采用认知考试焦虑量表从550名高一学生中筛选出75名不同考试焦虑水平的学生,运用Deese-Roediger-McDermott范式(DRM范式)诱发错误记忆,考察考试焦虑对错误记忆的影响。结果显示:(1)DRM范式能有效诱发个体对未呈现的关键诱词产生错误记忆;(2)中等考试焦虑水平的学生产生的错误记忆最少;(3)高考试焦虑水平的学生在高唤醒情境下对关键诱词的再认错误率显著高于中、低唤醒情境下的个体。使学生保持中度考试焦虑能减少错误记忆,提高认知成绩。     

The Influence of Culture on Anxiety in Latino Youth: A Review

This article reviews the literature on how culture influences anxiety in Latino youth. First, a review of cross-cultural variations in prevalence and measurement is presented. Then, the article focuses on how culture impacts the meaning and expression of anxiety. Specifically, we discuss the meaning and expression of anxiety, the impact of culture on anxiety at a societal level and through its effect on family and cognitive processes, and the influence of immigration and acculturation on anxiety. Finally, we propose recommendations on how to advance the literature in this area building on existing knowledge.     

焦虑对学生创造性的影响

以138名初二学生为被试,研究了特质焦虑和状态焦虑对学生创造性影响的问题。由于国外在此方面的研究结果不一致,研究的方法也缺乏生态化效度,因此本文试图通过教学现场实验,运用实际教学情境中的刺激来诱发学生的焦虑情绪,以探索在教学情境中学生焦虑对其创造性影响状况。研究结果表明,特质焦虑和状态焦虑对学生创造性的影响存在差异,其中特质焦虑对学生的创造性没有显著影响,而状态焦虑对学生的创造性有显著影响,即状态焦虑低分组在创造性测试的总分上明显高于状态焦虑高分组,且主要体现在流畅性和变通性两个方面。     

The Influence of Attitude on Learning

Automaticity theory and the effect of coloring a single element were tested with all or only 1 element colored in Stroop tasks. The 312 participants in 5 experiments indicated stimulus presentation color by key press. Experiments 1 and 2 replicated those of D. Besner, J. A. Stoltz, and C. Boutilier (1997) with some changes, and revealed similar results: less Stroop interference with only 1 letter colored. Besner et al. (1997) interpreted the results as indicating that coloring a single letter eliminates automatic reading processes. The cause of that reduction in Stroop interference was investigated in Experiments 3, 4, and 5 using color words, bars, and rectangles. The effect of coloring 1 element was to increase color-naming time by the same amount for congruent and neutral, nonverbal stimuli, but not for incongruent stimuli. The results are interpreted in terms of automaticity theory, and a continuous flow approach to the Stroop effect is presented.     

Trajectories of Social Anxiety in Children: Influence of Child Cortisol Reactivity and Parental Social Anxiety

Few studies have examined the interactive effect of intra- and extra-individual vulnerability factors on the trajectory of social anxiety in children. In this study, we examined the joint influence of familial vulnerability (i.e., parental social anxiety) and child biological stress vulnerability (i.e., cortisol reactivity) on trajectories of social anxiety. Children (N?=?112 (57 males), M _age?=?8.14 years, S.D. = 2.25) were followed over three visits spanning approximately three years. Parental social anxiety was assessed using the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory, children’s behavior and salivary cortisol reactivity were measured in response to a speech task, and children’s social anxiety was assessed at all three visits using the Screen for Child Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED; Parent-report). A growth curve analysis was used to examine trajectories of child social anxiety as predicted by children’s cortisol reactivity and parental social anxiety, adjusting for covariates. We found a significant interaction between parental social anxiety and child cortisol reactivity in predicting child social anxiety across time. Having a socially anxious parent coupled with heightened cortisol reactivity predicted the highest levels of child social anxiety, with scores that remained above clinically significant levels for social anxiety across all visits. Children with familial risk for social anxiety and who also exhibit high stress-reactivity appear to be at risk for persistent, clinically significant social anxiety. This highlights the importance of considering the interaction between both biological and contextual factors when considering the development, maintenance, and treatment of social anxiety in children across time.     

Fragile promise: The role of justification in promise-breaking

People who consider themselves moral sometimes use self-serving justifications to rationalize their selfish behaviours. Previous studies have tested the role of ambiguity in justifying wrongdoings, but it remains unclear whether ambiguity also plays a role in justifying promise-breaking behaviour and whether heterogeneity exists. To investigate justification in promise-breaking, we introduced a new experimental paradigm called the card-guessing task and used hierarchical cluster analysis to classify participants based on their promise-breaking decisions in unambiguous and ambiguous conditions. Experiment 1 revealed three clusters of solutions: Cluster 1 always kept their promises (i.e., keepers); Cluster 2 only exploited the vague promises and broke their promises in the ambiguous condition (i.e., intermediates); Cluster 3 tended to take advantage of vague promises and broke their promises irrespective of ambiguity (i.e., breakers). Experiment 2 confirmed that participants in the three clusters differed in their norm-abiding preferences and social value orientations. Keepers were more altruistic and had a stronger sense of norm compliance than intermediates and breakers. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that self-serving justifications were more likely to be employed by people who are moderately sensitive to deviation from social norms, which has implications for strategic interventions and policy formulation concerning unethical behaviour.     

自我决定动机对考试焦虑的影响：拖延行为的不同中介作用

我国约有一半的大学生经受着考试焦虑的困扰。结合国内外已有研究成果,本研究以624名大学生为被试,考察了自我决定动机的3种类型和拖延行为的2种类型对考试焦虑的忧虑性、情绪性的影响。结果发现：(1) 无动机对考试焦虑的2种类型都有正向的直接影响。(2) 唤起性拖延仅对情绪性有正向直接影响,而回避性拖延仅对忧虑性有正向直接影响。(3) 唤起性拖延在无动机影响考试焦虑的情绪性中起了重要的部分中介作用,而回避性拖延在无动机影响考试焦虑的忧虑性中起了重要的部分中介作用。     

反刍思维对大学生社交焦虑的影响:孤独感的中介作用

为研究孤独感在反刍思维与大学生社交焦虑间的中介作用。研究选取617名大学生为研究对象,采用反刍思维量表、孤独感量表和社会交往焦虑量表对被试进行测量。结果表明:(1)反刍思维和孤独感分别可以显著正向预测社交焦虑;(2)反刍思维可以正向预测孤独感;(3)孤独感在反刍思维与大学生社交焦虑间起中介作用。结论:反刍思维可以直接影响社交焦虑,也可以通过孤独感间接影响社交焦虑。     

自我聚焦对社交焦虑的影响：抽离与正念的调节作用

本文旨在探讨抽离和正念在自我聚焦对社交焦虑影响关系中的作用。两个研究分别采用相关法和实验法,探究自我聚焦内容（冗思、正念）和反思方式（浸入、抽离）对社交焦虑的交互影响。结果：问卷数据显示,抽离在自我聚焦注意影响社交焦虑的关系中起着调节作用,无论低抽离倾向还是高抽离倾向,自我聚焦注意都能预测社交焦虑,高抽离倾向减弱个体的社交焦虑感;实验结果表明,聚焦内容与反思方式两者交互作用于社交焦虑,浸入-聚焦冗思内容引发最强的社交焦虑,抽离-聚焦正念内容引发最弱的社交焦虑。结论：抽离和聚焦正念内容都最能有效缓解自我聚焦对社交焦虑的不良影响。     

粗暴养育与中学生学习投入：状态焦虑与性别的作用

基于儿童学习投入的社会文化情境发展模型和动机与投入之轮理论,构建了一个有调节的中介模型,探讨了粗暴养育与学习投入的关系以及状态焦虑与性别的作用。对852名初中生进行问卷调查,结果发现：（1）粗暴养育与状态焦虑呈显著正相关,与学习投入呈显著负相关,状态焦虑与学习投入呈显著负相关;（2）状态焦虑在粗暴养育与学习投入之间起完全中介作用;性别调节了“粗暴养育→状态焦虑→学习投入”的前半段路径,相对于男性,粗暴养育与状态焦虑的正向联系在女性中更强。     

The Influence of Anticipatory Processing on Attentional Biases in Social Anxiety

Research on cognitive theories of social anxiety disorder (SAD) has identified individual processes that influence this condition (e.g., cognitive biases, repetitive negative thinking), but few studies have attempted to examine the interaction between these processes. For example, attentional biases and anticipatory processing are theoretically related and have been found to influence symptoms of SAD, but they rarely have been studied together (i.e., Clark & Wells, 1995). Therefore, the goal of the current study was to examine the effect of anticipatory processing on attentional bias for internal (i.e., heart rate feedback) and external (i.e., emotional faces) threat information. A sample of 59 participants high (HSA) and low (LSA) in social anxiety symptoms engaged in a modified dot-probe task prior to (Time 1) and after (Time 2) an anticipatory processing or distraction task. HSAs who anticipated experienced an increase in attentional bias for internal information from Time 1 to Time 2, whereas HSAs in the distraction condition and LSAs in either condition experienced no changes. No changes in biases were found for HSAs for external biases, but LSAs who engaged in the distraction task became less avoidant of emotional faces from Time 1 to Time 2. This suggests that anticipatory processing results in an activation of attentional biases for physiological information as suggested by Clark and Wells.     

消极情绪刺激和焦虑状态对注意瞬脱的影响

当前研究采用经典的快速序列视觉呈现范式,以消极情绪图片和中性图片作为分心物,分别探讨了消极情绪刺激和不同焦虑状态对注意瞬脱的影响。结果显示:(1)负性图片为分心物引发显著的注意瞬脱现象。(2)当两目标之间的间隔(SOA)为200ms时,注意瞬脱现象最为明显,当SOA为600ms时,注意瞬脱现象依然存在。(3)与低特质焦虑个体相比,高特质焦虑个体的注意瞬脱现象更为明显。这些结果说明,负性加工偏向会加剧注意瞬脱现象,使得注意瞬脱现象持续更长的时间。高特质焦虑个体由于对负性刺激更敏感,导致了注意瞬脱更为明显。     

被动性社交网站使用与社交焦虑：反刍思维和自我建构的作用

尽管被动性社交网站使用已经被证实为增强社交焦虑的重要风险因子,然而对其中介和调节机制依然知之甚少。当前研究旨在探索被动性社交网站使用、反刍思维、社交焦虑和自我建构的关系。614名大学生自愿参与了当前研究,并完成了一份包含被动性社交网站使用、反刍思维、社交焦虑和自我建构问卷的测验。结果表明被动性社交网站使用正向预测社交焦虑,而反刍思维完全中介了两者间的联系。调节分析表明自我建构调节了被动性社交网站使用对反刍思维的影响。条件间接效应分析进一步表明反刍思维的完全中介作用仅存在于依存型个体中。当前研究有助于加深对被动性社交网站使用如何影响个体社交焦虑的理解。     

Learning Experiences and Anxiety Sensitivity in Normal Adolescents

The present study examined the relationships between learning experiences with respect to somatic symptoms and levels of anxiety sensitivity in youths. Fifty-two normal adolescents aged 12 to 14 years were interviewed about their learning experiences with anxiety-related and nonanxiety-related somatic symptoms and completed the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Results showed that informational learning to some extent contributed to adolescents' anxiety sensitivity levels. That is, parents' transmission of the idea that somatic symptoms might be dangerous was significantly associated with levels of anxiety sensitivity. Other learning experiences such as parental reinforcement or observational learning were not found to be related to anxiety sensitivity. It can be concluded that learning experiences seem to play a small but significant role in the development of high levels of anxiety sensitivity.     

Health-Related Quality of Life in College Undergraduates with Learning Disabilities: The Mediational Roles of Anxiety and Sadness

Little research has examined health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults with learning disabilities in post-secondary settings and the potential relationship between a learning disability and anxiety or sadness. This study examined HRQoL in 68 undergraduate students: 34 students who reported having been diagnosed with a “learning disability” were compared to 34 students who indicated they had not been diagnosed with a learning disability. Participants completed an online survey of anxiety, sadness, and HRQoL, including the SF-36. ANCOVAs on the Emotional Well-Being and Role Limitations Due to Emotional Problems scales from the SF-36 revealed that students reporting a diagnosis of a learning disability were significantly more impaired in Emotional Well-Being. Regression analyses suggested that impairment in Emotional Well-Being was mediated by separate ratings of both anxiety and sadness. Results indicated that those undergraduates reporting learning disabilities suffered from an impaired sense of well-being associated with anxious and sad feelings. A portion of these data were presented at the 2005 annual meetings of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).     

Early Negative Affect Predicts Anxiety, not Autism, in Preschool Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

Children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) face high risk for anxiety disorders, yet no studies have explored FXS as a high-risk sample for investigating early manifestations of anxiety outcomes. Negative affect is one of the most salient predictors of problem behaviors and has been associated with both anxiety and autistic outcomes in clinical and non-clinical pediatric samples. In light of the high comorbidity between autism and anxiety within FXS, the present study investigates the relationship between longitudinal trajectories of negative affect (between 8 and 71 months) and severity of anxiety and autistic outcomes in young males with FXS (n?=?25). Multilevel models indicated associations between elevated anxiety and higher fear and sadness, lower soothability, and steeper longitudinal increases in approach. Autistic outcomes were unrelated to negative affect. These findings suggest early negative affect differentially predicts anxiety, not autistic symptoms, within FXS. Future research is warranted to determine the specificity of the relationship between negative affect and anxiety, as well as to explore potential moderators. Characterizing the relationship between early negative affect and anxiety within FXS may inform etiology and treatment considerations specific to children with FXS, as well as lend insight into precursors of anxiety disorders in other clinical groups and community samples.