Attentional Control Scale Research Articles

Relationships among mindfulness, anxiety and depression in surface warship soldiers: the mediating role of attentional control

Objective To investigate the relationships between mindfulness, anxiety and depression in surface warship soldiers and the mediating role of attentional control. Methods Chinese versions of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Attentional Control Scale (ACS) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) were used to survey 475 surface warship soldiers. Single factor analysis of variance, correlation analysis and path analysis were conducted by SPSS 20.0 and Amos18.0. Results ① The scores of the state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression in the soldiers and noncommissioned officers were significantly higher than that of commissioned officers (P<0.05). As for the state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression and attentional focusing, there were statistically significant differences among different educational levels (P<0.05). Specifically, the lower educational level, the higher anxiety and depression, the lower control focusing. ② There were significant positive correlations among attentional focusing (27.12±4.43), attentional shifting (29.43±3.78) and mindfulness (120.27±11.16, r=0.49-0.51, P<0.01). State anxiety (38.65±10.07) was negatively correlated with attentional focusing, attentional shifting and mindfulness (r=-0.32--0.54, P<0.01). Similar results were observed for trait anxiety (41.28±8.79) and depression (9.97±10.13). ③Attentional focusing partially mediated the relationships between state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression and mindfulness. Conclusion Anxiety and depression of soldiers have obvious relationships with kinds of soldiers’ rank and education level. Mindfulness and attentional control are vital protective factors for marine army’s mental health. This study indicates that mindfulness may improve individuals’ attentional focusing and attentional shifting, and ameliorate negative moods such as anxiety and depression. Key words: Mindfulness; State anxiety; Trait anxiety; Depression; Attentional control

Designing a neurofeedback device to quantify attention levels using coffee as a reward system

Purpose. Work performance is closely related to one's attention level. In this study, a brain–computer interface (BCI) device suitable for office usage was chosen to quantify the individual's attention levels. Methods. A BCI system was adopted to interface brainwave signals to a coffee maker via three ascending levels of laser detectors. The preliminary test with this prototype was to characterize the attention level through the collected coffee amount. Here, the preliminary testing was comparing the correlation between the attention level and the participants’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and scores from the 21-item depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) and the attentional control scale (ACS) using ordinal regression. It was assumed that a greater CGPA would generate a greater attention level. Result. The generated coffee amount from the BCI system had a significant positive correlation with the CGPA (p = 0.004), mild depression (p = 0.019) and mild and extremely severe anxiety (p = 0.044 and p = 0.019, respectively) and a negative correlation with the ACS score (p = 0.042). Conclusion. This simple and cost-effective prototype has the potential to enable everyone to know their immediate attention level and predict the possible correlation to their mental state.

Trait attentional control modulates neurofunctional response to threat distractors in anxiety and depression

Accumulating data suggest attentional control capability varies across psychiatric diagnostic boundaries. The Attentional Control Scale (ACS) assesses self-reported trait attentional control (TAC) and tracks the anterior attention system. Greater TAC is associated with less negative affect, however, its mechanisms in anxiety and depression are poorly understood. Therefore, we examined whether individual differences in TAC modulated top-down mechanisms in a clinical sample. During fMRI, 104 patients with social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and/or major depression and 34 healthy participants completed a validated attentional control paradigm comprising strings of letters superimposed on threatening and neutral face distractors. In the low perceptual load condition, a target letter was in a string of identical letters. In the high load condition, a target letter was in a mixed letter string. Whole-brain regression results for low load revealed more activation to threat (vs. neutral) distractors in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex was predicted by better TAC (i.e., higher ACS scores). For high load, regression results showed less activation to threat (vs. neutral) distractors in the inferior frontal gyrus was predicted by better TAC. An exploratory whole-brain ANOVA revealed a main effect of group in the superior temporal gyrus and a main effect of perceptual load in parietal, frontal, and limbic regions. No other effects were detected and activation derived from significant ANOVA results did not correlate with ACS scores. In conclusion, regression findings suggest individual differences in brain-behavioral ACS-related activity in frontal structures may be useful in identifying phenotypes in internalizing conditions.

Effects of Trampoline Exercise on Attentional Control and Daytime Sleepiness among Young Adults with Anxiety Disorders in Malaysia

Purpose: Anxiety disorder has been linked to deficient attentional control and sleep problems in young adults. This study aimed to investigate the possible effects of trampoline exercise on attentional control and daytime sleepiness among young adults with anxiety disorders. Method: This single-blinded randomised controlled trial involved 40 young adults with anxiety disorders. All the participants were initially screened for eligibility using Beck Anxiety Inventory and Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire, and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=20) or a control group (n=20). While the experimental group was subjected to trampoline exercise for 4 weeks, all the participants in both the groups were taught deep breathing exercise. Attentional control and daytime sleepiness of the participants were evaluated using Attentional Control Scale and Epworth Sleepiness Scale respectively. Results: The experimental group showed statistically significant improvement in Attentional Control Scale (p=0.009) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (p=0.005) compared to the control group. Conclusion: Trampoline training resulted in reduction in daytime sleepiness and improvement in attentional control after 4 weeks of trial. This highlights the potential of trampoline exercise training as an adjunct to established clinical treatment.

Genetic Variation of COMT Impacts Mindfulness and Self-Reported Everyday Cognitive Failures but Not Self-Rated Attentional Control

The present study aimed to investigate potential associations between mindfulness and two prominent “cognitive” personality questionnaires (attentional control scale (ACS) and the cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ)). Moreover, all participants (N = 537, n = 384 females; mean age = 23.30; SD = 5.15) provided buccal swaps for genotyping a classic polymorphism (COMT Val158Met/rs4680) known to influence dopaminergic catabolism on the biochemical level, as well as cognitive functions on a psychological level. Our results show that mindfulness is robustly linked to the ACS (positively) and the CFQ (negatively). The Met/Met genotype of the COMT polymorphism was associated with lower mindfulness (F(1, 535) = 8.27, p = .004; allele level) and higher everyday cognitive failure (F(1, 535) = 9.23, p = .003; allele level). But no significant effects of COMT Val158Met genotype could be observed for attentional control. The present findings provide evidence that the genetic COMT make up of a person could in parts explain self-reported skills in mindfulness and everyday cognitive failure. Based on the direction of the results, possible underlying factors are discussed. As such, COMT effects on an affective facet, which underlies mindfulness and everyday cognitive failures but not attentional control, may drive the effects. As still only a small part of the variance in the constructs is explained by the COMT polymorphism, potentially more genetic polymorphisms should additionally be taken into account in future studies to explain more variance. Genes involved in the dopaminergic neurotransmission seem to be an optimal starting point.

Factor Structure of Slovak Adaptation of Attentional Control Scale

Factor Structure of Slovak Adaptation of Attentional Control Scale

French validation of the Attentional Control Scale : Factor structure and relationships with symptoms of anxiety and depression

French validation of the Attentional Control Scale : Factor structure and relationships with symptoms of anxiety and depression

Attentional control and the competition between nonpain goals and the threat of pain.

Fully understanding attention to pain requires taking into account the motivational context. Both pain- and (nonpain) goal-related information attracts attention. An intriguing question is which attentional bias prevails when pain- and goal-related information co-occurs? Reduced attentional bias towards pain- and goal-related information was predicted when the other competing information was presented simultaneously. Moreover, trait attentional control was predicted to be associated with stronger attentional bias towards goal-related information particularly in the presence of pain-related information. Attentional competition between pain- and (nonpain) goal-related information was measured in ninety participants using a dot-probe task presenting two stimuli (pain-related, goal-related or neutral) simultaneously. Reaction time was the dependent variable. Dot-probe trials alternated with goal trials to induce a temporary goal. Trait attentional control was measured with the attentional control scale. For pain-related neutral stimulus pairs, participants responded fastest when probes appeared on the same, compared to the opposite, location as the pain-related stimulus. For pain-goal-related stimulus pairs, responses were fastest when probes appeared on the same, compared to the opposite, location as the goal-related stimulus. Higher trait attentional control was associated with faster responding when probes appeared on the same, compared to the opposite, location as the goal-related stimulus. Unpredicted, this effect was irrespective of the co-occurring stimulus (neutral vs. pain-related). The findings suggest that the unintentional allocation of attention towards events related to a temporary (nonpain) goal prevails over attentional bias to events predicting pain. Trait attentional control predicts stronger attentional allocation towards events related to a temporary goal. These findings indicate that treatment interventions facilitating goal pursuit in patients with chronic pain are beneficial in reducing attentional biases towards pain-related events.

Measuring Attentional Control Ability or Beliefs? Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Convergent Validity of the Attentional Control Scale

The Attentional Control Scale (ACS; Derryberry and Reed 2002) has been widely used to measure individual differences in attentional control capacity, yet limited data exists on the factor structure and psychometric properties of the scale. Using confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 125 undergraduate students, the present study evaluated and compared two different factor structures for the ACS reported in the literature. The convergent validity of the ACS was also explored by testing its associations with a behavioural measure of attentional control (the antisaccade task) and measures of working memory capacity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a correlated two-factor model reflecting “focusing” and “shifting” subscales that eliminated several underperforming items from each subscale. Contrary to predictions, there were no statistically significant correlations between the ACS and its subscales and the working memory and antisaccade task indices. In addition, it was found that the ACS and its subscales were negatively related to symptoms of anxiety and depression, whereas performance on the working memory and antisaccade tasks was unrelated to anxiety or depression. These findings suggest that the ACS may be a better measure of beliefs about attentional control capacity than ability per se, a possibility that requires further investigation.

The mediating role of attentional control between negative automatic thoughts and social anxiety among medical freshmen

Objective To explore the mediating effect of attentional control between negative automatic thoughts and social anxiety. Methods A total of 1 504 college freshmen of medical university were surveyed with the Interaction Anxiety Scale (IAS), the Automatic Thoughts questionnaire (ATQ) and the Attentional Control Scale (ACS). Results The scores of IAS, ACS and ATQ of medical freshmen were (39.36±8.15), (53.50±7.48) and (48.93±19.72) respectively. Correlation analysis showed that ATQ total score was significantly positively correlated with IAS total score(r=0.313, P<0.01), ATQ total score was significantly negatively correlated with ACS total score(r=-0.275, P<0.01), and ACS score was significantly negatively correlated with IAS total score(r=-0.455, P<0.01). Mediating effect analysis showed that attentional control partly-mediated the relationship between negative automatic thoughts and social anxiety among medical freshmen (χ2/df=1.650, GFI=0.998, AGFI=0.993, RMSEA=0.021), and accounted for 50.8% of the mediating effect. Conclusion Negative automatic thoughts is an important factor which plays direct and indirect roles in social anxiety. Attentional control is the intermediate link between negative automatic thoughts and social anxiety. Key words: Medical freshmen; Social anxiety; Negative automatic thoughts; Attentional control; Mediating effect

On the validity of self-report assessment of cognitive abilities: Attentional control scale associations with cognitive performance, emotional adjustment, and personality.

Individual differences in attentional control involve the ability to voluntarily direct, shift, and sustain attention. In studies of the role of attentional control in emotional adjustment, social relationships, and vulnerability to the effects of stress, self-report questionnaires are commonly used to measure this construct. Yet, convincing evidence of the association between self-report scales and actual cognitive performance has not been demonstrated. Across 2 independent samples, we examined associations between self-reported attentional control (Attentional Control Scale; ACS), self-reported emotional adjustment, Five-Factor Model personality traits (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised) and performance measures of attentional control. Study 1 examined behavioral performance on the Attention Network Test (ANT; Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002) and the Modified Switching Task (MST; Suchy & Kosson, 2006) in a large sample (n = 315) of healthy young adults. Study 2 (n = 78) examined behavioral performance on standardized neuropsychological tests of attention, including Conner's Continuous Performance Test-II and subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, Third Edition (WAIS-III; Psychological Corporation, 1997) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS; Delis, Kaplan, & Kramer, 2001). Results indicated that the ACS was largely unrelated to behavioral performance measures of attentional control but was significantly associated with emotional adjustment, neuroticism, and conscientiousness. These findings suggest that although self-reported attentional control may be a useful construct, researchers using the ACS should exercise caution in interpreting it as a proxy for actual cognitive ability or performance. (PsycINFO Database Record

Attentional focus moderates the relationship between attention to threat bias and delusion-like experiences in healthy adults

BackgroundThe role of cognitive biases in delusion and delusion-like experiences has been widely investigated in recent years. However, little is known about individual differences, which may influence association between cognitive biases and formation of delusional beliefs. The aim of this study was to examine the moderating effect of self-reported attentional control on the relationship between attention to threat bias (ATB) and delusion-like experiences (DLEs) in healthy adults. MethodsParticipants (n=138) completed the Davos Assessment of the Cognitive Biases Scale (DACOBS), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS) and the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI). The moderation analysis was performed to check the influence of different components of attentional control (i.e. general ability to allocate attention, focusing, shifting and divide attention) on the interplay between ATB and DLEs. ResultsThe results supported the moderation model. Specifically, we found that a higher level of ability to focus attention is associated with a stronger effect of attention to threat bias on the overall frequency of DLEs. Our results indicate that ATB contributes to the number of DLEs only in individuals with high and moderate capacity to focus attention, whereas in those who scored low on the ACS focusing attention subscale, the presence of attentional bias does not influence the frequency of DLEs. ConclusionsOur findings show that the individual difference variable, such as ability to voluntarily focus attention, may moderate the relationship between attention to threat bias and delusion-like experiences in healthy adults.

Attentional Control Scale for Children: Factor Structure and Concurrent Validity Among Children and Adolescents Referred for Anxiety Disorders.

The present study examined the factor structure and concurrent validity of the Attentional Control Scale for Children (ACS-C; Muris, de Jong, & Engelen, 2004), a youth self-rating scale of attentional control. A multisource assessment approach was used with 186 children and adolescents referred to an anxiety disorders specialty clinic. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 2-factor structure with internally consistent and moderately correlated subscales of Attentional Focusing and Attentional Shifting. Total ACS-C and subscale scores demonstrated significant associations with youth and parent ratings of youth anxiety symptoms, youth self ratings of depressive symptoms, and youth diagnosis of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. These findings support use of the ACS-C as a self-rating scale of attentional control among referred youth. Future research is encouraged to examine retest reliability of the ACS-C and to evaluate whether its internal structure could be enhanced by removing or modifying items that performed poorly.

An Investigation of Attention Control Ability in Monolinguals, Bilinguals and Trilinguals

&lt;p style="margin: 12pt 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; -ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi;"&gt;Cognitive characteristics of people are not in the same level, and facing with some situations and experiences may cause change to these features, although they may not be changed because of some factors. Here an attempt has been made to investigate one of these cognitive charactristics_ attention control ability, variations, if any, in the scope of native, second and foreign language. This study was a quantitative correlational study. A sample of 90 Iranian people (monolinguals, bilinguals, and trilinguals) was drawn from different universities and foreign language institutes . Quantitative data were collected through a valid questionnaire (attention control scale). The finding revealed that there is no significant difference between these three groups of people in terms of attention control ability. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

An investigation of general predictors for cognitive–behavioural therapy outcome for anxiety disorders in a routine clinical setting

IntroductionCognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is effective for treating anxiety disorders and is offered in most mental health services around the world. However, a relatively large number of patients with anxiety disorders...

Emotional attentional control predicts changes in diurnal cortisol secretion following exposure to a prolonged psychosocial stressor

Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis irregularities have been associated with several psychological disorders. Hence, the identification of individual difference variables that predict variations in HPA-axis activity represents an important challenge for psychiatric research. We investigated whether self-reported attentional control in emotionally demanding situations prospectively predicted changes in diurnal salivary cortisol secretion following exposure to a prolonged psychosocial stressor. Low ability to voluntarily control attention has previously been associated with anxiety and depressive symptomatology. Attentional control was assessed using the Emotional Attentional Control Scale. In students who were preparing for academic examination, salivary cortisol was assessed before (time 1) and after (time 2) examination. Results showed that lower levels of self-reported emotional attentional control at time 1 (N=90) predicted higher absolute diurnal cortisol secretion and a slower decline in cortisol throughout the day at time 2 (N=71). Difficulty controlling attention during emotional experiences may lead to chronic HPA-axis hyperactivity after prolonged exposure to stress. These results indicate that screening for individual differences may foster prediction of HPA-axis disturbances, paving the way for targeted disorder prevention.

The Contribution of Metacognitions and Attentional Control to Decisional Procrastination

Earlier research has implicated metacognitions and attentional control in procrastination and self-regulatory failure. This study tested several hypotheses: (1) that metacognitions would be positively correlated with decisional procrastination; (2) that attentional control would be negatively correlated with decisional procrastination; (3) that metacognitions would be negatively correlated with attentional control; and (4) that metacognitions and attentional control would predict decisional procrastination when controlling for negative affect. One hundred and twenty-nine participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21, the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire 30, the Attentional Control Scale, and the Decisional Procrastination Scale. Significant relationships were found between all three attentional control factors (focusing, shifting, and flexible control of thought) and two metacognitions factors (negative beliefs concerning thoughts about uncontrollability and danger, and cognitive confidence). Results also revealed that decisional procrastination was significantly associated with negative affect, all measured metacognitions factors, and all attentional control factors. In the final step of a hierarchical regression analysis only stress, cognitive confidence, and attention shifting were independent predictors of decisional procrastination. Overall these findings support the hypotheses and are consistent with the Self-Regulatory Executive Function model of psychological dysfunction. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Tradução e adaptação semântica do Questionário de Controle Atencional para o Contexto Brasileiro

A capacidade de controlar a atenção é uma tarefa complexa que demanda diferentes processos mentais. O presente estudo teve como objetivo traduzir e adaptar o Questionário de Controle Atencional para o Brasil. A pesquisa foi realizada com a ajuda de dois painéis multidisciplinares: um formado por profissionais de Psicologia Experimental e Neurociências responsáveis por auxiliar nas adaptações semânticas, e outro de especialistas em Psicologia da Atenção responsáveis por julgar os itens em três aspectos: clareza, coerência e compatibilidade semântica. O Coeficiente de Validade de Conteúdo foi utilizado para avaliar os itens a partir dos escores desses juízes. Dentre os 20 itens, apenas três não se mantiveram acima do critério de 0,80: itens 3, 16 e 20. Os resultados foram discutidos considerando os problemas enfrentados na adaptação do instrumento. Concluiu-se que o Questionário de Controle Atencional foi traduzido adequadamente e apresenta equivalência semântica com seu original estadunidense.

Individual differences in visual and auditory processing of emotional material

AbstractPresented studies investigated the specificity of visual and auditory modalities in attentional processing of emotion, and its association with temperamental dimensions and trait-like attentional control (AC). During preliminary study 30 participants were presented with the paper-pencil visual search task (Emotional Faces Attentional Test) and emotional prosody detection tasks (Emotional Prosody Test). Results revealed visual happiness superiority and auditory sadness superiority. During the main study, in addition to attentional performance, 51 subjects were administrated two questionnaires: EPQ-R and Attentional Control Scale. Introducing individual differences into analysis limited the general pattern of modality distinctiveness in attentional processing of emotional stimuli obtained in the preliminary study. Findings for all personality traits studied separately showed that Extraversion and low Neuroticism were associated with the visual sadness superiority. Whereas interactional analysis indicated effective visual threat processing in extraverts with good AC and effective friendly prosody detection when Neuroticism and AC remain in inverse relationship. Hence, we have found that processing emotional targets in both modalities is associated with temperament dimensions and their interactions with attentional control. Additionally, findings from both studies suggest that general psychological laws might be challenged by individual differences.

Effect of attention control on sustained attention during induced anxiety

Anxiety has wide-reaching and complex effects on cognitive performance. Although it can intrude on cognition and interfere with performance, it can also facilitate information processing and behavioural responses. In a previous study, we showed that anxiety induced by threat of shock facilitates performance on the Sustained Attention to Response Task, a vigilance test, which probes response inhibition to infrequent nogo stimuli. The present study sought to identify factors that may have contributed to such improved performance, including on- and off-task thinking (assessed with thought probes) and individual differences in attention control, as measured with the Attention Control Scale. Replicating our prior finding, we showed that shock threat significantly reduced errors of commission on the nogo trials. However, we extended this finding in demonstrating that this effect was driven by subjects with low attention control. We therefore confirm that anxiety increases inhibitory control of prepotent responses—a mechanism which is adaptive under threat—and show that this effect is greater in those who rely more upon such prepotent responding, i.e., those with low attentional control.