Reducing negative interpretations in adolescents with anxiety disorders: a preliminary study investigating the effects of a single session of cognitive bias modification training

TY - JOUR

T1 - Reducing negative interpretations in adolescents with anxiety disorders

T2 - a preliminary study investigating the effects of a single session of cognitive bias modification training

AU - Fu, Xiaoxue

AU - Du, Yasong

AU - Au, Shun

AU - Lau, Jennifer Y F

PY - 2013/4

Y1 - 2013/4

N2 - Anxiety disorders are globally prevalent, debilitating and onset in early life. Cognitive bias modification of interpretations (CBM-I) training has emerged as a targeted intervention for early emerging anxiety problems. While CBM-I can alter interpretational styles in unselected and clinical-analogue samples of adolescents, no studies have assessed its capacity to change biases in clinical samples. Here, we assessed training efficacy in ameliorating interpretation biases and anxious mood in adolescents with anxiety disorders. Twenty-eight Chinese adolescents meeting criteria for a current anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to receive positive or neutral CBM-I training. Training involved completing a word-fragment to resolve the outcomes of sixty ambiguous scenarios. During positive training, scenarios ended with benign/positive resolutions, but during neutral training, half of the scenarios were resolved positively and half negatively. Positively trained patients interpreted new ambiguous scenarios less negatively than the neutral training group although training effects were not observed on a questionnaire measure of interpretation bias. Training effects on mood were also absent. Before the clinical implications of CBM-I can be considered in adolescents, research needs to establish optimal training parameters for symptom-changes to occur.

AB - Anxiety disorders are globally prevalent, debilitating and onset in early life. Cognitive bias modification of interpretations (CBM-I) training has emerged as a targeted intervention for early emerging anxiety problems. While CBM-I can alter interpretational styles in unselected and clinical-analogue samples of adolescents, no studies have assessed its capacity to change biases in clinical samples. Here, we assessed training efficacy in ameliorating interpretation biases and anxious mood in adolescents with anxiety disorders. Twenty-eight Chinese adolescents meeting criteria for a current anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to receive positive or neutral CBM-I training. Training involved completing a word-fragment to resolve the outcomes of sixty ambiguous scenarios. During positive training, scenarios ended with benign/positive resolutions, but during neutral training, half of the scenarios were resolved positively and half negatively. Positively trained patients interpreted new ambiguous scenarios less negatively than the neutral training group although training effects were not observed on a questionnaire measure of interpretation bias. Training effects on mood were also absent. Before the clinical implications of CBM-I can be considered in adolescents, research needs to establish optimal training parameters for symptom-changes to occur.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Affect

KW - Anxiety Disorders

KW - Child

KW - Cognition

KW - Cognitive Therapy

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Social Perception

KW - Treatment Outcome

U2 - 10.1016/j.dcn.2012.11.003

DO - 10.1016/j.dcn.2012.11.003

M3 - Article

C2 - 23219491

SN - 1878-9293

VL - 4

SP - 29

EP - 37

JO - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

JF - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

IS - N/A

M1 - N/A

ER -