title: Aversive learning and generalization predict subclinical levels of anxiety: a six-month longitudinal study.
abstract: The identification of premorbid markers of risk for psychopathology is one of the most important challenges for present-day psychiatric research. This study focuses on behavioral vulnerability factors that contribute to the development of anxiety. Little is known about the role of aversive learning and generalization in the development of pathological anxiety. In this study, a large student sample (N=375) completed a differential aversive learning task followed by a test of generalization. Anxiety was assessed at that moment and after a six-month follow-up. Results showed that both predictors (discrimination learning and generalization) added significantly to the explained variance in anxiety symptomatology at follow-up. These results highlight the importance of longitudinal designs and indicate that screening for individual differences in aversive learning and generalization may foster prediction of anxiety disorders, paving the way for targeted prevention.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: bert.lenaert@ppw.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lenaert
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Boddez
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vervliet
authors.affiliation: School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schruers
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hermans
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000873:Anthracenes; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013732:Test Anxiety Scale; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C546739:AnOV compound; D000873:Anthracenes
keywords: Anxiety; Aversive learning; Discrimination learning; Generalization; Longitudinal study