title: Distractibility as a precursor to anxiety: Preexisting attentional control deficits predict subsequent autonomic arousal during anxiety.
abstract: Low attentional control (AC) and high anxiety are closely linked. Researchers often presume that high anxiety reduces AC; however, the reverse causal possibility - that low AC increases anxiety - is equally plausible. We addressed this question in people with elevated trait anxiety by evaluating the temporal precedence of the AC-anxiety association. We tested whether autonomic arousal (electrodermal activity) and subjective anxiety elicited by an anxiety induction were associated more strongly with AC measured either pre-induction (N=40) or post-induction (N=38). Low AC was indexed by distractibility during a visual search task requiring attentional inhibition of emotionally neutral distractors. Higher distractibility predicted higher autonomic activation but not higher increases in self-reported anxiety. Critically, this AC-anxiety association occurred for pre-induction but not post-induction AC. The results suggest that low AC may heighten subsequent anxious arousal. By implication, treatment interventions should specifically enhance AC to alleviate anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,Tufts University, United States; Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, United States. Electronic address: birk@tc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Birk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,Tufts University, United States; School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, United States.
authors.forename: Philipp C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Opitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology,Tufts University, United States.
authors.forename: Heather L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Urry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D000070379:Attentional Bias / Q000502:physiology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Attentional control