Interpretation of ambiguous situations: evidence for a dissociation between social and physical threat in Williams syndrome

Dodd, H. F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1446-5338 and Porter, M. A. (2011) Interpretation of ambiguous situations: evidence for a dissociation between social and physical threat in Williams syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41 (3). pp. 266-274. ISSN 0162-3257 doi: 10.1007/s10803-010-1048-1

Abstract/Summary

Williams Syndrome (WS) is associated with an unusual profile of anxiety, characterised by increased rates of non-social anxiety but not social anxiety (Dodd & Porter, 2009). The present research examines whether this profile of anxiety is associated with an interpretation bias for ambiguous physical, but not social, situations. Sixteen participants with WS, aged 13-34 years, and two groups of typically developing controls matched to the WS group on chronological age (CA) and mental age (MA), participated. Consistent with the profile of anxiety reported in WS, the WS group were significantly more likely to interpret an ambiguous physical situation as threatening than both control groups. However, no between-group differences were found on the ambiguous social situations.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/33957
Identification Number/DOI	10.1007/s10803-010-1048-1
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items 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)
Uncontrolled Keywords	williams syndrome; interpretation bias; anxiety;
Publisher	Springer
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item