Threat Interpretation Bias in Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Examining Maternal Influences
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Author(s)
Farrell, Lara
Hourigan, Donna
Waters, Allison
Harrington, Mathew
Year published
2015
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children is a chronic and debilitating disorder. Cognitive theories propose that threat biases may play a role in the development and maintenance of various anxiety disorders, including OCD. Although there is a small body of research examining cognitive theories of OCD in samples of children and youth (e.g., Reynolds & Reeves, 2008), to date, there are no studies that have examined overestimation of threat in children in relation to ambiguous scenarios that may imbue mildly aversive, neutral, and positive interpretations. Children with primary OCD and their mothers (n = 22 dyads) and ...
View more >Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children is a chronic and debilitating disorder. Cognitive theories propose that threat biases may play a role in the development and maintenance of various anxiety disorders, including OCD. Although there is a small body of research examining cognitive theories of OCD in samples of children and youth (e.g., Reynolds & Reeves, 2008), to date, there are no studies that have examined overestimation of threat in children in relation to ambiguous scenarios that may imbue mildly aversive, neutral, and positive interpretations. Children with primary OCD and their mothers (n = 22 dyads) and nonclinical children and their mothers (n = 26 dyads) participated in this study. Children with OCD were less accurate in identifying expected feelings across scenarios and perceived all types of situations as being more difficult compared with nonclinical children; however, after controlling for self-reported anxiety symptoms, there were no group differences. Child groups did not differ on other indices of interpretation bias. Mothers of children with OCD, compared with mothers of nonclinical children, also interpreted all types of situations as more threatening and difficult and were less accurate in identifying appropriate emotions in ambiguous situations that may imbue mildly positive connotations. Results are discussed in terms of the broader literature on interpretation bias in anxious children and youth and implications for future research and practice.
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View more >Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children is a chronic and debilitating disorder. Cognitive theories propose that threat biases may play a role in the development and maintenance of various anxiety disorders, including OCD. Although there is a small body of research examining cognitive theories of OCD in samples of children and youth (e.g., Reynolds & Reeves, 2008), to date, there are no studies that have examined overestimation of threat in children in relation to ambiguous scenarios that may imbue mildly aversive, neutral, and positive interpretations. Children with primary OCD and their mothers (n = 22 dyads) and nonclinical children and their mothers (n = 26 dyads) participated in this study. Children with OCD were less accurate in identifying expected feelings across scenarios and perceived all types of situations as being more difficult compared with nonclinical children; however, after controlling for self-reported anxiety symptoms, there were no group differences. Child groups did not differ on other indices of interpretation bias. Mothers of children with OCD, compared with mothers of nonclinical children, also interpreted all types of situations as more threatening and difficult and were less accurate in identifying appropriate emotions in ambiguous situations that may imbue mildly positive connotations. Results are discussed in terms of the broader literature on interpretation bias in anxious children and youth and implications for future research and practice.
View less >
Journal Title
Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
Volume
29
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2015 Springer Publishing Company. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Cognitive and computational psychology
Applied and developmental psychology
Clinical and health psychology
Social and personality psychology