The Impact of Childhood Anxiety on Processes of Attentional Executive Control in the Presence of Emotional Face Distractors

Abstract

Anxiety interferes with executive control of attention (ECA), especially in the context of emotional information. Previous research suggests that temperamental differences in self-regulation might modulate these effects. The present research examined the association between trait anxiety and temperamental self-regulation on ECA processes, in the context of positive and threatening distractors in a sample of primary school children. We designed a computerized Emotional letter discrimination task that required both inhibitory and set shifting processes. Emotional faces distractors were displayed one at a time during a primary letter discrimination task. To assess inhibition, our task contained compatible trials (the target letter was flanked by distractor letter that had the same identity as the target) and incompatible trials (the target letter was flanked by distractor letter that had the opposite identity). The results showed that higher levels of anxiety were associated with increased reaction times to discriminate target letters during incompatible trials in the presence of happy distractors. In addition, lower levels of temperamental self-regulation were related to increased reaction times in the presence of angry distractors during incompatible trials. These findings provide empirical evidence for an association between increased child anxiety and lower self-regulation on the executive control of attention in the context of emotional distracting information.