Poster #22 - The Interaction of Attentional Biases to Social Cues and Behavioral Motivation in Predicting Depressive Symptoms

• In Event: Poster Session 12

Abstract

Adolescence is characterized by increasingly complex and intimate relationships. One of the chief developmental milestones of this period is effective navigation of changing social dynamics. During this time, adolescents begin to show an increasing sensitivity to social cues, particularly among girls. Heightened sensitivity to social information indicating rejection and acceptance may confer risk for, or protection against, depressive symptoms depending on girls’ general behavioral motivation towards aversive and appetitive stimuli, which is largely guided by the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS). Excessive vigilance to rejection can inflate one’s feeling of insecurity and lead to social withdrawal. Girls who have a heightened attentional bias toward rejection might be particularly susceptible to depression if they generally feel tense, worried, and fearful in response to aversive cues (high BIS). However, being attuned to acceptance may mitigate depression risk if girls are driven to gain further exposure to positive experiences (high BAS; e.g., taking the initiative to strengthen friendships). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether BIS or BAS moderates the association between attentional bias towards rejection or acceptance cues and subsequent depressive symptoms.
At baseline, 124 girls (Mage = 16.01 years, SD = .82) completed measures of behavioral inhibition (BIS) and activation (BAS), depressive symptoms, and a modified dot-probe task in which a neutral word was paired with either a rejection-related word (e.g., “quarter-ignored”) or acceptance-related word (e.g., “stairs-worthy”). Attentional bias toward rejection or acceptance cues was calculated by subtracting the reaction time for identifying probes in the location of the rejection or acceptance cue from the reaction time for identifying probes in the location of the neutral cue. Higher scores indicate greater attentional bias toward rejection or acceptance cues. At a three-month follow-up, girls reported on depressive symptoms.
Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed a significant Rejection Bias x BIS and a significant Acceptance Bias x BAS interaction predicting follow-up depression, adjusting for baseline depression (Table 1). As predicted, an elevated rejection bias predicted higher subsequent depressive symptoms in girls with high, but not low, levels of BIS (Figure 1a), whereas an elevated acceptance bias predicted somewhat lower subsequent depressive symptoms in girls with high, but not low, levels of BAS (Figure 1b).
These findings suggest that attentional biases to social cues differentially heighten or dampen risk for depression contingent on the patterns of behavioral motivation. Heightened attentional bias toward rejection cues may be particularly detrimental to girls who excessively activate behavioral inhibition and avoidance in reaction to signals of threats. Failing to respond to recurring, potentially distressing social cues with effective coping strategies may intensify feelings of helplessness and, in turn, heighten depression. Moreover, paying more attention to acceptance cues may be beneficial for girls who engage in approach behaviors and experience positive affect in response to rewarding or appetitive stimuli. An active BAS system may propel girls who are sensitive to acceptance cues to pursue opportunities that improve their relationships with others and thus lower their depression risk.

Authors

• Zihua Ye, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Haley Skymba, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Haina Modi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Megan Davis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Katherine Haigler

• Megan Finnegan

• Eva H Telzer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Karen Rudolph, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign