Lau-Zhu A, Stacey J, Gibson D, Chan C, Cooper M
Department of Experimental Psychology, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Behav Cogn Psychother. 2024 Nov;52(6):543-560. doi: 10.1017/S1352465824000298. Epub 2024 Sep 23.
Future events can spring to mind unbidden in the form of involuntary mental images also known as 'flashforwards', which are deemed important for understanding and treating emotional distress. However, there has been little exploration of this form of imagery in youth, and even less so in those with high psychopathology vulnerabilities (e.g. due to developmental differences associated with neurodiversity or maltreatment).
We aimed to test whether flashforwards are heightened (e.g. more frequent and emotional) in autistic and maltreatment-exposed adolescents relative to typically developing adolescents. We also explored their associations with anxiety/depression symptoms.
A survey including measures of flashforward imagery and mental health was completed by a group of adolescents (=87) aged 10-16 (and one of their caregivers) who met one of the following criteria: (i) had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder; (ii) a history of maltreatment; or (ii) no autism/maltreatment.
Flashforwards (i) were often of positive events and related to career, education and/or learning; with phenomenological properties (e.g. frequency and emotionality) that were (ii) not significantly different between groups; but nevertheless (iii) associated with symptoms of anxiety across groups (particularly for imagery emotionality), even after accounting for general trait (non-future) imagery vividness.
As a modifiable cognitive risk factor, flashforward imagery warrants further consideration for understanding and improving mental health in young people. This implication may extend to range of developmental backgrounds, including autism and maltreatment.
未来事件可能会以非自愿心理图像的形式不由自主地出现在脑海中，这种图像也被称为“闪前”，被认为对理解和治疗情绪困扰很重要。然而，对于这种意象形式在青少年中的探索很少，在那些具有高精神病理学易感性的人群中（例如由于与神经多样性或虐待相关的发育差异）更是如此。
我们旨在测试相对于发育正常的青少年，自闭症青少年和遭受过虐待的青少年的闪前现象是否更强烈（例如更频繁且更情绪化）。我们还探讨了它们与焦虑/抑郁症状的关联。
一组年龄在10 - 16岁的青少年（=87名）及其一名照顾者完成了一项包括闪前意象和心理健康测量的调查，这些青少年符合以下标准之一：（i）被诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍；（ii）有虐待史；或（iii）无自闭症/虐待经历。
闪前（i）通常是关于积极事件，且与职业、教育和/或学习相关；其现象学特征（例如频率和情绪性）（ii）在各组之间无显著差异；但尽管如此（iii）在各组中都与焦虑症状相关（特别是对于意象的情绪性），即使在考虑了一般特质（非未来）意象的生动性之后也是如此。
作为一种可改变的认知风险因素，闪前意象在理解和改善年轻人的心理健康方面值得进一步考虑。这一影响可能扩展到包括自闭症和虐待在内的一系列发育背景。
