Altered Positive Affect in Clinically Anxious Youth: the Role of Social Context and Anxiety Subtype

Abstract

Anxious youth may experience altered positive affect (PA) relative to healthy youth, perhaps because of greater sensitivity to social experiences. Altered PA may be especially evident during the transition to adolescence, a period in which positive social events increase in salience and value. The current study evaluated whether anxious youth show differences in baseline PA, rate of return to baseline, and variability around baseline PA and tested whether these differences would depend on social context and anxiety subtype. Participants were 176 9- to 14-year-old youth, including 130 clinically anxious (with Social Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and/or Separation Anxiety Disorder) and 46 healthy youth. Youth reported their current PA, peak PA in the past hour, and social context in natural settings using ecological momentary assessment. Hierarchical linear models showed that both socially anxious and other anxious youth showed greater variability of PA relative to healthy youth. Youth with other anxiety disorders showed higher peak PA to a positive event relative to healthy youth. Feeling close to a friend was associated with higher peak PA, especially for socially anxious youth. Socially anxious youth showed significantly lower peak PA relative to both healthy and other anxious youth when interacting with a less close peer, but similar levels to these youth when interacting with a close friend. These findings suggest that clinically anxious youth may more sensitive to positive events and social interactions than healthy youth. Findings provide potential treatment targets for anxious youth, including applying regulatory strategies to positive events.

Dynamic system perspectives on anxiety and depression

“…Adolescents show substantial individual differences in the dynamics of anxiety and depression, but the average frequencies and intensities peak in late adolescence, especially in girls, followed by a decrease over adulthood (Bailen et al, 2019;Carstensen et al, 2000;Reitsema et al, 2019; see for adults Fisher et al, 2017Fisher et al, , 2018Houben et al, 2015). Adolescents who report more frequent, intense, persistent, and variable negative emotions (especially sadness, nervousness and anger) and decreased positive emotions and energy are most vulnerable for the development of episodes of anxious or depressed mood (Bailen et al, 2019;Kuppens et al, 2012;Neumann et al, 2011;Silk et al, 2003;Morgan et al, 2017).…”

Adolescents’ neural response to social reward and real-world emotional closeness and positive affect

“…Importantly, emotional closeness is a key component of intimate relationships that helps fulfill the basic human need of belongingness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). During social interactions, feelings of closeness are associated with having heightened positive affect during the past hour's most positive event (i.e., peak positive affect; Morgan et al, 2016). Following pleasurable events, describing the emotional experience of those events to others also enhances positive affect (Rimé, 2009).…”

Advancing clinical neuroscience through enhanced tools: Pediatric social anxiety as an example

“…EMA addresses children's difficulties in retrospectively reporting aspects of mood (Baltasar-Tello, Miguélez-Fernández, Peñuelas-Calvo, & Carballo, 2018) and anxiety problems (Silk et al, 2018, Tan et al, 2012for review, see Smyth & Stone, 2003). Moreover, EMA also accurately assesses aspects of social contexts, such as peer interactions, that could influence children's emotional state (Morgan et al, 2017;Silk et al, 2011;Tan et al, 2012). Moreover, EMA also accurately assesses aspects of social contexts, such as peer interactions, that could influence children's emotional state (Morgan et al, 2017;Silk et al, 2011;Tan et al, 2012).…”

“…It capitalizes on the fact that children more accurately rate their current state, compared to average levels of distress over extended periods (McCathie & Spence, 1991). Moreover, EMA also accurately assesses aspects of social contexts, such as peer interactions, that could influence children's emotional state (Morgan et al, 2017;Silk et al, 2011;Tan et al, 2012). Hence, this tool improves assessments by integrating digitallycollected real-time ratings.…”