Predictors of response to an attention modification program in generalized social phobia.

Abstract

Objective At least three randomized, placebo controlled, double blind studies support the efficacy of computerized Attention Modification Programs (AMP) in reducing symptoms of anxiety in patients diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. In this study we examined patient characteristics that predicted response to AMP in a large sample of individuals diagnosed with Generalized Social Phobia (GSP). Method The sample comprised 112 individuals seeking treatment for GSP who completed a randomized clinical trial comparing AMP (n = 55) to a placebo condition (i.e., Attention Control Condition, ACC, n = 57). We examined the following domains of baseline predictors of treatment response: (1) demographic characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity, years of education), (2) clinical characteristics (Axis I comorbidity, trait anxiety, depression), and (3) cognitive disturbance factors (attentional bias for social threat, social interpretation bias). Results Results revealed that ethnicity predicted treatment response across both conditions: Participants who self-identified as non-Caucasian displayed better overall response compared to Caucasians. The only prescriptive variable to emerge was attentional bias for social threat at pre-assessment. Specifically, participants in the AMP group who exhibited larger attentional bias scores displayed significantly greater reductions in clinician-rated social anxiety symptoms relative to their counterparts in the ACC group. Conclusions These results suggest that AMP may be targeted to individuals most likely to benefit from it.

Impact of the temporal stability of preexistent attentional bias for threat on its alteration through attention bias modification

“…Indeed, while previous studies reported that preexistent AB at a single time-point prior to ABM predicts larger alterations in AB after the training (e.g., Amir et al, 2011;Kuckertz et al, 2014;Mogoase et al, in press), we found that the stable component (i.e., the variance shared between the two baseline points) is more predictive than the dynamic one in the maintenance of AB after ABM. In contrast, we also showed that, while the performance improvement during ABM is positively related to the dynamic component, it was negatively related to the stable component.…”

“…Given the rational of ABM, the presence of an AB before ABM has been considered as a critical one. Accordingly, Amir et al (2011) reported that the initial level of AB significantly moderated the relationship between assigned training condition (ABM versus sham training) and improvement in anxiety symptoms. In the same vein, Kuckertz et al (2014) reported that higher preexistent AB predicted greater symptom reduction for participants who completed ABM, but not for those who were in the sham group.…”

“…This work has led to several randomized controlled trials among anxious individuals reporting that, relative to control training (i.e., a sham training), this procedure reduces AB, thereby diminishing anxiety symptoms (for meta-analyses, see Hakamata et al, 2010;Mogoase et al, in press). By most standards, these results raised promising clinical avenues for ABM as it entails a very simple protocol, little contact with a mental health professional, and a potential for easy dissemination (e.g., Amir, Taylor, & Donohue, 2011;Clarke, Notebaert, & MacLeod, 2014;Heeren, Maurage, & Philippot, 2013).…”

Emotion Regulation Moderates the Association Between Proximal Negative Affect and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration

“…Johnson and Neyman 1936) to identify the exact levels of emotion regulation at which negative affect demonstrated significant associations with IPV (i.e., the regions of significance of the simple effects of affect). This approach to decomposing interactions is increasingly common with clinically relevant data (e.g., Amir, Taylor, and Donohue 2011;McNulty and Russell 2010), including IPV data (Beeble, Bybee, Sullivan, and Adams 2009;Shorey et al 2014b).…”

Attentional bias modification based on visual probe task: methodological issues, results and clinical relevance

“…6,[26][27][28] The other five studies [29][30][31][32][33] found no effects of generalization on AB reduction or correlations with other variables.…”