Threat Appraisal and Pediatric Anxiety: Proof of Concept of a Latent Variable Approach

Author:

Bernstein Rachel A.1ORCID,Smith Ashley R.2,Kitt Elizabeth R.3,Cardinale Elise M.14ORCID,Harrewijn Anita5,Abend Rany6,Michalska Kalina J.7,Pine Daniel S.1,Kircanski Katharina1

Affiliation:

1. Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland

2. Division of Translational Research, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland

3. Department of Psychology, Yale University

4. Department of Psychology, Catholic University of America

5. School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam

6. School of Psychology, Reichman University

7. Department of Psychology, University of California-Riverside

Abstract

Elevated threat appraisal is a postulated neurodevelopmental mechanism of anxiety disorders. However, laboratory-assessed threat appraisals are task-specific and subject to measurement error. We used latent-variable analysis to integrate youths’ self-reported threat appraisals across different experimental tasks; we next examined associations with pediatric anxiety and behavioral- and psychophysiological-task indices. Ninety-two youths ages 8 to 17 ( M = 13.07 years, 65% female), including 51 with a primary anxiety disorder and 41 with no Axis I diagnosis, completed up to eight threat-exposure tasks. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using questionnaires and ecological momentary assessment. Appraisals both before and following threat exposures evidenced shared variance across tasks. Derived factor scores for threat appraisal were associated significantly with anxiety symptoms and variably with task indices; findings were comparable with task-specific measures and had several advantages. Results support an overarching construct of threat appraisal linked with pediatric anxiety, providing groundwork for more robust laboratory-based measurement.

Funder

National Institute of Mental Health

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Clinical Psychology

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