Eye-tracking and behavioral measures of mind-wandering relate to depressive symptoms in children: a preliminary study

Elevated levels of mind-wandering in adults have been associated with both negative mood and depressive symptoms. Eye-tracking studies have further identified relationships between pupil dilation and mind-wandering as well as depression in adults. Although children tend to mind wander at similar rates as adults and adolescents, less is known about how both mind-wandering and pupillometry during cognitive tasks relate to depressive symptoms in children. In this preliminary study, we tested associations between mind-wandering, phasic and tonic pupillary responses, and depression symptoms in sixty children (8-13 years old) using a trait mind-wandering scale, experience sampling during an attention task, eye-tracking during a memory task, and a depression symptom scale. Eye-tracking results revealed that children with higher levels of trait mind-wandering exhibited overall smaller tonic pupil diameter (PD). Children reporting more depressive symptoms had smaller tonic PD across all trial types. These variables interacted with time-on-task, with children showing more stable patterns of tonic PD and less differentiation between trial types across the task at higher levels of trait mind-wandering or with more depressive symptoms. In addition, behavioral results showed positive relationships between mind-wandering and depressive symptoms. Together, our preliminary findings provide novel support for an association between mind-wandering and depression symptoms in children and further suggest that both may uniquely affect pupillary dynamics and arousal during cognitive tasks. Further research is warranted to investigate whether behavioral and pupillary measures associated with mind-wandering could aid in the early identification of increased distraction and depressed mood in children.