title: Age and Social Context Modulate the Effect of Anxiety on Risk-taking in Pediatric Samples.
abstract: Although risk-taking has been studied from a developmental perspective, no study has examined how anxiety, age, risk-valence and social context interact to modulate decision-making in youths. This study probes this question using a risk-taking task, the Stunt Task, in clinically anxious children (n = 17, 10 F, age = 8.3-12.1 years), healthy children (n = 13, 4 F, age = 9.3-12.2 years), clinically anxious adolescents (n = 18, 6 F, age = 12.3-17.7 years), and healthy adolescents (n =14, 10 F, age = 12.5-17.3 years). Social context was manipulated: in one condition, participants were led to believe that a group of peers were observing and judging their performance (peer-judge), while, in the other condition, they were led to believe that peers were not observing them (control). Only anxious children showed an influence of social context on their risk-taking behavior. Specifically, anxious children bet significantly less and had slower reaction times (RT) during the peer-judge than control condition. However, across social conditions, risk-valence modulated RT differently in function of age and diagnosis. Anxious children were slower on the positive-valence risky trial, whereas anxious adolescents were slower on the negative-valence risky trials relative to their respective healthy peers. In conclusion, clinically anxious children were the only group that was sensitive (risk-averse) to the effect of a negative peer-judge context. The negative peer-judge context did not affect risky decision-making in adolescents, whether they were anxious or healthy. Future work using a stronger aversive social context might be more effective at influencing risky behavior in this age group.
authors.affiliation: The National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 15K North Drive, MSC 2670, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.affiliation: The National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 15K North Drive, MSC 2670, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Nilam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: The National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 15K North Drive, MSC 2670, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Nevia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pavletic
authors.affiliation: The National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 15K North Drive, MSC 2670, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grillon
authors.affiliation: The National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 15K North Drive, MSC 2670, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.affiliation: The National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 15K North Drive, MSC 2670, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. ernstm@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ernst
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012931:Social Environment
keywords: Adolescents; Children; Clinical anxiety; Peer judgement