Abstract
Children’s cognitive functions undergo significant changes during the transition into early adolescence. However, insufficient research has investigated the developmental patterns of negative and positive attentional biases in children. The relationship between the developmental patterns of attentional biases and the emotional development of children is also under-researched. Thus, it was unknown whether the developmental patterns of negative and positive attentional biases predicted the developmental trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms. The current research aimed to reveal developmental patterns of attentional biases and to examine their associations with the trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms beyond the effect of active and avoidant coping styles.A pilot study was conducted first to examine the factor structure of the Chinese version of the Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale in a sample of 111primary school children, including 54 girls (48.6%) and 57 boys (51.4%) aged 11 to 13 years. A seven-item brief version of the APNIS scale for children was established after principal component analysis with two subscales – a 4-item Attention to Negative Information subscale and a 3-item Attention to Positive Information subscale.
With the brief scale, a longitudinal survey study to establish the developmental trajectories of self-reported negative and positive attentional biases was conducted, which recruited 264 Chinese children aged 9 to 10 years in a primary school in Shenzhen, mainland China. Self-reported inventories of attentional biases and anxiety and depression symptoms were completed by children in the classrooms four times from November 2020 to May 2022over 18 months with an interval of 6 months in between. Children completed the self reported inventory of active and avoidant coping styles in the first assessment during November 2020 as well. Moreover, 87 children randomly selected from the sample completed the supplementary dot-probe task twice during September 2021 (The first assessment) and November 2021 (The second assessment) to measure short-term changes inattentional biases with an interval of approximately two months in the computer rooms.
Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) revealed three trajectories of negative attentional bias (low, moderate, and high) and three trajectories of positive attentional bias(low, moderate, and high) in children, controlling for gender, coping styles, anxiety symptoms, and depression symptoms in Time one. LCGA also revealed three trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms (low, moderate, and high), controlling for gender, coping styles, negative attentional bias, and positive attentional bias in Time 1. Trajectory membership of higher self-reported negative attentional bias predicted trajectory membership of higher anxiety and depression symptoms, beyond the effect of active and avoidant coping styles. The trajectories of positive attentional bias did not predict the trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms after controlling for active and avoidant coping styles.
The results from the supplementary behavioral measure of attentional biases showed that a short-term increase in positive attentional bias from the first assessment to the second assessment predicted the trajectory membership of lower anxiety and depression symptoms after controlling for active and avoidant coping styles. Short-term changes in negative attentional bias from the first assessment to the second assessment were not associated with the trajectories of anxiety and depression symptoms. Findings from the self-reported and behavioral measures of attentional biases were compared.
In summary, the study revealed that self-reported negative attentional bias, but nonpositive attentional bias, played a significant role in affecting the developmental patterns of anxiety and depression symptoms. Allocation of attention to positive information measuredly the dot-probe task, but not allocation of attention to negative information, was significantly related to the developmental patterns of anxiety and depression symptoms. The difference in the results from the two measures of attentional biases might be explained by the difference in the period of assessment and the aspects of attentional biases.
The limitations included the small sample of children who completed the dot-probe task, a lack of an eye-tracking technique to provide a more reliable measure of attentional biases, and an inability to establish long-term trajectories of attentional biases measured byte behavioral task due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these limitations, the results contributed to the current knowledge of the developmental model of negative and positive attentional biases. Early prevention might need to be delivered to address the trajectory of constantly high self-reported negative attentional bias and to improve children’s allocation of attention to positive stimuli during the transition into adolescence.
| Date of Award | 17 Aug 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Samuel M.Y. HO (Supervisor) |