Experimental modification of interpretation bias in socially anxious children: Changes in interpretation, anticipated interpersonal anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms (original) (raw)
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Experimental modification of interpretation bias in socially anxious children
We report on an experimental manipulation of interpretation bias in socially anxious youths. A nonclinical sample of 10-11-year-olds selected for high social anxiety was trained over three sessions to endorse benign rather than negative interpretations of potentially threatening social scenarios. This group was subsequently less likely to endorse negative interpretations of new ambiguous social situations than children in a test-retest condition. Children who received interpretation training also showed reduced trait social anxiety and reported significantly less anxiety about an anticipated interpersonal encounter, compared with the control group.
Facilitating a benign interpretation bias in a high socially anxious population
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2007
Previous research has shown that high socially anxious individuals lack the benign interpretation bias present in people without social anxiety. The tendency of high socially anxious people to generate more negative interpretations may lead to anticipated anxiety about future social situations. If so, developing a more benign interpretation bias could lead to a reduction in this anxiety. The current study showed that a benign interpretation bias could be facilitated (or 'trained') in a high socially anxious population. Participants in the benign training groups had repeated practice in accessing benign (positive or non-negative) interpretations of potentially threatening social scenarios. Participants in the control condition were presented with the same social scenarios but without their outcomes being specified. In a later recognition task, participants who received benign interpretation training generated more benign, and less negative, interpretations of new ambiguous social situations compared to the control group. Participants who received benign training also predicted that they would be significantly less anxious in a future social situation than those in the control group. Possible implications of the findings for therapeutic interventions in social phobia are discussed. r
Cognitive bias modification of interpretations: A viable treatment for child and adolescent anxiety?
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2013
Cognitive bias modification of interpretations (CBM-I) programs, in which individuals are trained to interpret ambiguous scenarios in a benign way, appear effective in altering anxiety-related cognitive biases in both children and adults. In this experimental study, we explored the effectiveness of a novel CBM-I training tool for children, which involves joint discussions of ambiguous information with a same-gender peer. 10-to 11-year-old boys and girls (n = 20) were provided with ambiguous social vignettes, each followed by two interpretations, and then asked to select one of them after a brief discussion with a same-gender peer. A further group of participants did not participate in any training but only completed pretraining and posttraining measures (n = 18). Results indicated that children who completed the interpretation training made less negative interpretations, endorsed less negative emotional consequences, reported less social anxiety, and performed better in a stressful task compared with the no-intervention group. Clinical implications of the results are briefly discussed.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2015
Cognitive bias modification of interpretations (CBM-I) programs, in which individuals are trained to interpret ambiguous scenarios in a benign way, appear effective in altering anxiety-related cognitive biases in both children and adults. In this experimental study, we explored the effectiveness of a novel CBM-I training tool for children, which involves joint discussions of ambiguous information with a same-gender peer. 10-to 11-year-old boys and girls (n = 20) were provided with ambiguous social vignettes, each followed by two interpretations, and then asked to select one of them after a brief discussion with a same-gender peer. A further group of participants did not participate in any training but only completed pretraining and posttraining measures (n = 18). Results indicated that children who completed the interpretation training made less negative interpretations, endorsed less negative emotional consequences, reported less social anxiety, and performed better in a stressful task compared with the no-intervention group. Clinical implications of the results are briefly discussed.
Social anxiety is the most prevalent anxiety disorder of late adolescence, yet current treatments reach only a minority of youth with the disorder. Effective and easy-to-disseminate treatments are needed. This study pilot tested the efficacy of a novel, online cognitive bias modification for interpretation (CBM-I) intervention for socially anxious youth and their parents. The CBM-I intervention targeted cognitive biases associated with early adolescents' maladaptive beliefs regarding social situations, and with parents' intrusive behavior, both of which have been theoretically linked with the maintenance of social anxiety in youth. To investigate the efficacy of intervening with parents and/or children, clinically diagnosed early adolescents (ages 10-15; N = 18) and their mothers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: the first targeted early adolescents' cognitive biases related to social anxiety (Child-only condition); the second targeted parents' biases associated with intrusive behavior (Parent-only condition); and the third targeted both youth and parents' biases in tandem (Combo condition). The use of a multiple baseline design allowed for the efficient assessment of causal links between the intervention and reduction in social anxiety symptoms in youth. Results provided converging evidence indicating modest support for the efficacy of CBM-I, with no reliable differences across conditions. Taken together, results suggest that online CBM-I with anxious youth and/or their parents holds promise as an effective and easily administered component of treatment for child social anxiety that deserves further evaluation in a larger trial.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 2008
This study provides a first test of an experimental method, the ''space odyssey'' paradigm, that was designed to manipulate interpretation bias in children. Seventy nonclinical children aged 8-12 years first completed a standardized anxiety questionnaire. Following this, they completed the space odyssey paradigm to induce either a negative or a positive interpretation bias. After this stage of interpretation training, children were presented with a series of ambiguous vignettes for which they had to rate perceived levels of threat as an index of interpretation bias. Results indicated that the space odyssey paradigm was successful in training interpretations: children in the negative training condition quickly learned to choose negative outcomes, while children in the positive training condition rapidly learned to select positive outcomes. Most importantly, children's subsequent threat perception scores for the ambiguous vignettes were affected by the manipulation. That is, children in the negative training condition perceived more threat than children in the positive training condition. Interestingly, the effects of training were most pronounced in high anxious children. Directions for future research with this paradigm are briefly discussed.
Cognition and Emotion, 2018
Two studies aimed to examine whether high socially anxious individuals are more likely to negatively interpret ambiguous social scenarios and facial expressions compared to low socially anxious individuals. We also examined whether interpretation bias serves as a mediator of the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety responses, in particular current state anxiety, bodily sensations, and perceived probability and cost of negative evaluation pertaining to a speech task. Study 1 used ambiguous social scenarios and Study 2 used ambiguous facial expressions as stimuli to objectively assess interpretation bias. Undergraduate students with high and low social anxiety completed measures of state anxiety responses at three time points: baseline, after the interpretation bias task, and after the preparation for an impromptu speech. Results showed that high socially anxious individuals were more likely to endorse threat interpretations for ambiguous social scenarios and to interpret ambiguous faces as negative than low socially anxious individuals. Furthermore, negative interpretations mediated the relationship between trait social anxiety and perceived probability of negative evaluation pertaining to the speech task in Study 1 but not Study 2. The present studies provide new insight into the role of interpretation bias in social anxiety.