Cognitive Bias Modification Training in Children Affects Anxiety During Anticipatory Processing of Social Evaluation

Interpretation training programs have proven effective in altering anxiety-related cognitive biases in children and adults. The current study examined the effects of interpretation training on subsequent anticipatory processing of an anxiety-provoking event. A nonclinical sample of 89 children (10-12 years) was trained to interpret ambiguous social scenarios in either a benign or a negative way. After a single session of training, participants were also asked to engage in anticipatory processing and rated their state anxiety at various points during the experiment. The results indicate that the training was effective in inducing the intended group differences in interpretative bias. Moreover, participants who had previously been trained to make benign interpretations showed attenuated levels of state anxiety after engaging in anticipatory processing of the stressful event, whereas participants trained to make negative interpretations maintained their heightened anxiety levels during this period. These results provide support for our hypothesis that manipulating interpretative bias may modify anxious responsivity during anticipatory processing of an anxiety-provoking event.