Early behavioural inhibition, a temperamental characteristic defined by fearful, overly-sensitive, avoidant, or withdrawn reactions to the unknown, is a predictor of later social anxiety. However,... Show moreEarly behavioural inhibition, a temperamental characteristic defined by fearful, overly-sensitive, avoidant, or withdrawn reactions to the unknown, is a predictor of later social anxiety. However, not all behaviourally inhibited children develop anxiety problems, and attentional bias to threat has been proposed to moderate the relation between behavioural inhibition and anxiety. The current study aimed to further specify the relation between early behavioural inhibition and later social anxiety by testing this potentially moderating role of childhood attentional bias to threat. Behavioural inhibition was assessed during toddlerhood (age 2.5 years) using laboratory observations of children's behaviours in response to unknown objects and situations. When children were 7.5 years old, attentional bias was measured in 86 children (46 girls) using both a visual probe task and a visual search task with angry and happy faces. Child social anxiety was measured using questionnaires completed by the child and both parents, and clinical interviews conducted with both parents. Our results showed that while early behavioural inhibition was related to later social anxiety, there was no evidence for a moderation of this relation by attentional bias, suggesting that the relation between early fearful temperament and later social anxiety holds across children, independent of their attentional biases. Show less
Blöte, A.W.; Miers, A.C.; Van den Bos, E.; Westenberg, P.M. 2019
This three-wave longitudinal study spanning five years evaluated the mediating roles of negative social self-perception and social interpretation bias in the link between adolescent shyness and... Show moreThis three-wave longitudinal study spanning five years evaluated the mediating roles of negative social self-perception and social interpretation bias in the link between adolescent shyness and social anxiety. Participants were 331 (pre-)adolescents aged 9 to 17 years old at Wave 1, with data from 261 participants available for the main analyses. The study used a parent-reported measure of shyness. Social anxiety and the mediator variables were self-reported. Results showed that shyness predicted a relative increase in social anxiety over time. Negative social self-perception mediated the shyness social anxiety link, but social interpretation bias did not. The results suggest that shy adolescents who think negatively about their social performance may become socially anxious. Boosting the social self-perception of shy (pre-)adolescents may help to prevent the development of social anxiety. Show less
Bos, E.J. van den; Tops, M.; Westenberg, P.M. 2017
