Abstract
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive, uncontrollable worry and is associated with cognitive and emotional difficulties including threat interpretation bias (IB). Worry, especially in a verbal mode, has been shown to cause a temporary restriction in working memory (WM). This study examined the effects of verbal and image-based worry on WM, whether the effect of worry on WM accounts for IB in persons with GAD, and the degree to which WM correlates with cognitive and emotional processes associated with GAD. At baseline, participants (N = 32) with GAD completed questionnaires assessing worry, and related processes, and WM and IB tasks. Participants were then trained to worry in verbal or imagery form, per Leigh and Hirsch (2011), and completed WM and IB tasks a second time. At baseline, in the absence of induced worry, lower WM was related to greater emotion dysregulation, intolerance of uncertainty, negative problem orientation, and lower attentional control. Induced worry, regardless of the form, did not significantly affect WM or IB.
Highlights
Attention— “sustained attention in the face of interference or distraction” (Engle et al, 1999)
This study sought to examine the relationships among worry, working memory restriction, and the cognitive and emotional processes related to Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) including negative problem orientation, intolerance of uncertainty, emotion dysregulation, attentional control, cognitive avoidance, and negative metacognitive beliefs
This study investigated the relation of working memory to the cognitive and emotional difficulties that characterize GAD, in persons whose symptoms met criteria for this diagnosis
Summary
Participants were recruited through online and print advertisements and from a database of participants who had previously participated in worry-related studies and had agreed to be contacted about other studies. All participants were asked to report on their ability to engage in imagery or verbal mentation on a 100mm visual analogue scale (VAS) ranging from 0 (not at all) to 100 (totally) after each practice scenario and were given additional feedback or instructions if necessary (Leigh & Hirsch, 2011). Participants were verbally prompted to continue worrying in the trained form of mentation and completed the WSAP while continuing to worry (worry test phase continued) They retrospectively rated their mood prior to the RIG task and provided thought content ratings on VAS, indicating how well they felt they engaged in imagery/verbal thought during the worry induction, from 0 (not at all) to 100 (totally), and what percentage of their thought content was in the trained form of mentation (from 0% to 100%). In line with previous research (e.g., McLaughlin, Borkovec, & Sibrava, 2007) it was expected that the worry induction would cause an increase in negative affect, reflected in higher anxiety ratings and lower mood ratings
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
