ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the characteristics of attentional control between Wenchuan earthquake anxious and normal children. Methods Using Screening Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), 18 earthquake anxious children were chosen as participants and 18 normal children were chosen as control group. They were asked to perform a visual search task. Results ( 1 ) The judgment accuracy of earthquake anxious children was lower than normal children's significantly ( ( 0.95 ± 0.01 ), ( 0. 98 ± 0. 01 ), P ＜0.01 ). ( 2 ) The reaction time of earthquake anxious children was significantly longer than normal children' s ((1664.5 ± 78.5 ) ms, ( 1110.7 ± 78.5 ) ms, P ＜ 0. 01 ). ( 3 ) There was significantly faster performance in the valid condition than in the neutral( ( 1304.7 ± 61.3 ) ms, ( 1382. 3 ± 47.4 ) ms, P ＜ 0. 05 ) and invalid condition ( ((1304.7 ± 61.3 )ms, (1475.8 ± 71.5 )ms; P ＜ 0. 05 ), as well as faster performance in the neutral than in the invalid condition ((1382.3 ± 47.4) ms, ( 1475.8 ± 71.5 ) ms, P ＜ 0.05 ) in all children. Conclusion The performance of earthquake anxious children on top-down attentional control task is less than normal children. It indicates that anxious emotion which is brought by traumatic incidents like earthquake influents earthquake anxious children' s cognitive processing ability.
ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the ability of intentional forgetting to emotional words of post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) children and normal children by item method after Wenchuan earthquake 18 months.Methods Twenty PTSD children who met with CCMD-3 and DSM-Ⅳ criteria and twenty control group children were investigated. Sixteen positive and sixteen negative words were adopted as materials. PTSD children accomplished the words learning, arithmetical operation and memory tests ( include free recall, words completion and words recognition) in orderly. Results ( 1 )The free recall accuracy of PTSD children to positive words was significant high than negative words( (0.32 ±0.11 ), (0.28 ±0.10), P＜0.05). The free recall accuracy of control group to positive words was significant high than negative words ( (0.37 ± 0.09 ), (0.34 ± 0.13 ), P＜ 0.05 ). ( 2 )The words completion accuracy of PTSD children to positive words was significant low than negative words( (0.38± 0.12 ), (0.49 ± 0.12 ), P ＜ 0.05 ). The words completion accuracy of control group to positive words was significant low than negative words ( (0.39 ± 0.15 ), (0.56 ± 0.14 ), P ＜ 0.01 ). ( 3 ) There was no difference of words recognition accuracy of PTSD children to positive and negative words ( ( 0.64 ± 0. 19 ), (0.63 ± 0. 16), P ＞0. 05). There was no difference of words recognition accuracy of control group to positive and negative words ((0.64 ± 0. 16), (0.65 ±0. 19), P ＞ 0. 05). Conclusion There is a significant intentional forgetting effect on emotional words in PTSD children and normal children, and this effect were influenced not only by selective rehearsal but also retrieval inhibition.