The free-viewing matrix task: A reliable measure of attention allocation in psychopathology.

Aberrant attention allocation has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of a range of psychopathologies. However, three decades of research, relying primarily on manual response-time tasks, have been challenged on the grounds of poor reliability of its attention bias indices. Here, in a large, multisite, international study we provide reliability information for a new eye-tracking-based measure of attention allocation and its relation to psychopathology and age. Data from 1567 participants, across a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses and ages, were aggregated from nine sites around the world. Of these, 213 participants also provided retest data. Acceptable overall internal consistency and test-retest reliability were observed among adult participants (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86 and r(213) = 0.89, respectively), as well as across all examined psychopathologies. Youth demonstrated lower internal consistency scores (Cronbach's alpha = 0.65). Finally, the percent dwell time index derived from the task statistically differentiated between healthy participants and participants diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These results potentially address a long-standing reliability crisis in this research field. Aberrant attention allocation patterns in a variety of psychiatric disorders may be targeted with the hope of affecting symptoms. The attention allocation index derived from the matrix task offers reliable means to measure such cognitive target engagement in clinical contexts.

Does attention bias modification reduce anxiety in socially anxious college students? An experimental study of potential moderators and considerations for implementation.

According to cognitive models, preferential attention to social threat contributes to maintenance of social anxiety. Socially anxious individuals are known to show attention biases to threatening stimuli, although there is inconsistency in the literature with regards to the type of attentional biases they present. This study examines the effect of attention bias modification (ABM) for social anxiety in non-treatment-seeking college students meeting social anxiety disorder criteria, taking into consideration previous mixed results regarding its effectiveness. Attention bias levels and types (i.e. vigilance vs avoidance) at baseline were examined and considered as potential moderators of ABM effects. Sixty-eight socially anxious individuals were randomly allocated to ABM vs placebo groups. A structured interview and self-report assessment were completed at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Results showed half of the participants presented few attention biases at baseline, and the rest presented either vigilance or avoidance. Participants with low attention biases scored higher in social anxiety than those showing avoidance and there was no difference between those showing vigilance vs avoidance. No significant effects from pre to post treatment were observed in attention biases, self-report or structured interview of anxiety in the ABM group. Baseline attention biases did not moderate these effects. Results are discussed with regards to implications for future research towards the creation of more effective protocols, based on the needs of heterogeneous social anxiety sub-groups.

Measuring social phobia symptoms in a community sample of adolescents: An examination of the psychometric properties of the SPAI-23.

A number of studies to date examine dimensions of social phobia and anxiety in adolescents. A variety of tools has been developed, along with their abbreviated versions, that are used to assess Social Anxiety (SA) but little research has been devoted to the types of fears they each assess. Due to differences in the content of the multitude of instruments, different aspects of SA are addressed and this leads to confusion when the relationship between SA and other constructs is being investigated. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the abbreviated Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory SPAI-23 in Greek-Cypriot community adolescents and describe dimensions of social fears at that age. Seven hundred twenty-one adolescent students from Cyprus, (Mean Age: 15.5, Range: 13-19, SD: 1.12, 64% female) participated in the study. Participants completed, among others, an abbreviated version of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI-23). Exploratory Factor Analysis on the SPAI-23 revealed a quite similar structure to the original questionnaire (SPAI). Three Social Phobia factors, describing distinct socially fearful situations, were identified (Performance, Interaction, and Presence in a social context) and one Agoraphobia factor after the evaluation of alternative solutions. Findings were verified by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis, testing alternative models. Overall, findings were in line with recent evidence on youth samples, and contribute to significant insights towards more sophisticated and personalized assessments.

Population Screening of Gambling Behavior: Playing to Escape From Problems May Be a Key Characteristic of At-Risk Players.

The increase in gambling availability and the inclusion of gambling disorder as an addiction in DSM-5 highlight the importance of brief screening measures aiming to identify at-risk gamblers. The current study, using a brief telephone survey, assessed demographic characteristics and gambling behaviors in 2,118 adults. Questions were developed based on DSM-5 criteria for Gambling Disorder and common assessment tools. A 7% prevalence of as at-risk gamblers was identified. Male gender, low monthly income, high frequency of gambling behavior, large amounts of money spent, and gambling to escape from everyday problems or for amusement, specifically for men, were found to be the characteristics that can help in the early identification of at-risk gamblers. Gambling for financial gain and as a way to socialize, age, and employment status were not significant predictors of gambling severity. This study shows that the above characteristics can be assessed easily through phone screening of large populations, aiding in prevention practices to reduce the problematic use of gambling activities.

Identifying sub-categories of social fears using an alternative factor analytic structure of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory.

AIMS: This study evaluates an alternative factor structure of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (Turner et al., 1989), a widely used measure of social anxiety. Existing models ignore variance due to the different social contexts where social fears are expressed. METHOD: Taking a different approach to scoring than previous studies, this investigation proposes a new model, which, in addition to 4-5 symptom dimensions, is able to capture the situations (strangers, authority figures, members of the opposite sex and people in general) that are of concern to the examinee. To test this model, all 96 items of the Social Phobia scale, rather than the average of the sub-items of its 23 questions were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The model shows good fit and is superior to models ignoring the "situation" factors, which show good predictive validity in respect to real life demographics. CONCLUSION: Utilization of all single questions of the SPAI can capture a wider range of social fears related to social anxiety than using the average of the items, which has implications for the understanding and clinical assessment of social anxiety.