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The moderating effect of anxiety diagnosis on the relationship between error-related negativity and anxiety
1San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, USA.
Abstract:
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to fear of anxiety symptoms that are believed to result in physical (Physical Concerns), cognitive (Cognitive Concerns), or social (Social Concerns) harm. AS is implicated in a range of anxiety disorders and may propel maladaptive behaviors by increasing action monitoring systems in order to prevent errors. Indeed, anxious individuals are characterized by elevated neural responses to errors, as indexed by the error-related negativity (ERN). In the current study we examined the moderating effect of clinical diagnosis on the relationship between scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-3) and the ERN in an unselected sample (N = 124) of women. Based on semi-structured clinical interviews, participants were classified as belonging to an anxiety group (AD), a clinical control group (CC), and a healthy non-clinical group (HC). Participants completed an arrowhead version of the Flanker task while we collected electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Analyses revealed that diagnostic group moderated the association between residualized ERN (ERNResid) and Cognitive Concerns, such that the AD group demonstrated a significantly stronger and more negative association compared to the HC group. Our results indicate that the relationship between ERNResid and Cognitive Concerns is strongest in individuals characterized by elevated anxiety.
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