Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Cogn Emot. 2012;26(6):1069-83. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2011.638910. Epub 2012 Mar 12.
The present study examined the associations between attentional biases to threat, attentional control and anxiety in a sample of children aged 9 to 14. It was hypothesised that the association between attentional biases toward threat and anxiety might be stronger when the ability to control attention is reduced. The study employed pictures of neutral, happy and angry facial expressions as they have greater ecological value compared to words. Children completed a dot-probe task measuring attentional biases toward such stimuli. They also completed the Spence child anxiety scale for anxiety symptoms and, for attentional control, the child version of the attention control scale measuring the ability to focus and shift attention. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis showed that attentional control significantly explained anxiety. Furthermore, the interaction between attentional control and attentional biases significantly explained anxiety level. These results indicate that attentional control moderates the relation between attentional biases toward threatening facial expressions and anxiety in children. Additionally, a discussion about a possible protective role of attentional control is provided.
本研究考察了 9 至 14 岁儿童样本中对威胁的注意力偏差、注意力控制和焦虑之间的关系。研究假设，当注意力控制能力下降时，对威胁的注意力偏差与焦虑之间的关联可能更强。该研究采用中性、快乐和愤怒的面部表情图片作为刺激，因为它们比文字具有更大的生态价值。儿童完成了一项测定对这些刺激的注意力偏向的点探测任务。他们还完成了斯宾塞儿童焦虑量表，以测量焦虑症状，以及注意力控制量表的儿童版，以衡量集中注意力和转移注意力的能力。分层回归分析的结果表明，注意力控制显著解释了焦虑。此外，注意力控制和注意力偏向之间的交互作用显著解释了焦虑水平。这些结果表明，注意力控制调节了儿童对威胁性面部表情的注意力偏向与焦虑之间的关系。此外，还提供了关于注意力控制可能具有保护作用的讨论。
