Abstract
Whereas past theorizing has posited that worrying disrupts working memory, the present study aimed to explore the idea that working memory deficits may contribute to the tendency to worry, and perhaps the etiology of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). College students (N = 198) completed questionnaire measures of worry and anhedonic depression, a clinical interview to assess symptoms of GAD, and two working memory tasks: the n-back task and the operation span (OSPAN) task. Also, a subset of these participants (n = 38) reported their levels of worry and anhedonic depression during the past week again at the end of the academic semester. Initial levels of worry and symptoms of GAD were negatively associated with n-back (but not OSPAN) performance. Furthermore, n-back performance predicted levels of recent worry at follow-up, even after controlling for baseline worry. In contrast, anhedonic depression was not significantly associated with task performance (cross-sectionally or prospectively). Potential implications of these findings for theories and treatment of worry are discussed.
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