Attention bias to emotional faces varies by IQ and anxiety in Williams syndrome

McGrath, L. M., Oates, J. M., Dai, Y. G., Dodd, H. F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1446-5338, Waxler, J., Clements, C. C., Weill, S., Hoffnagle, A., Anderson, E., MacRae, R., Mullett, J., McDougle, C. J., Pober, B. R. and Smoller, J. W. (2016) Attention bias to emotional faces varies by IQ and anxiety in Williams syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46 (6). pp. 2174-2185. ISSN 1573-3432 doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2748-y

Abstract/Summary

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) often experience significant anxiety. A promising approach to anxiety intervention has emerged from cognitive studies of attention bias to threat. To investigate the utility of this intervention in WS, this study examined attention bias to happy and angry faces in individuals with WS (N=46). Results showed a significant difference in attention bias patterns as a function of IQ and anxiety. Individuals with higher IQ or higher anxiety showed a significant bias toward angry, but not happy faces, whereas individuals with lower IQ or lower anxiety showed the opposite pattern. These results suggest that attention bias interventions to modify a threat bias may be most effectively targeted to anxious individuals with WS with relatively high IQ.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/60212
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY)
Publisher	Springer
Publisher Statement	This is the author’s version of the manuscript. The final, published version is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-016-2748-y
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