The nature of cognitive biases in childhood

"Early in his life, an individual develops a wide variety of concepts and attitudes abouthimself and his world. Some of these concepts are anchored to reality and form thebasis for a healthy personal adjustment. Others deviate from reality and producevulnerability to possible psychological disorders." (Beck, 1967, p.275)Recent research has highlighted that cognitive biases may contribute to, precipitate ormaintain the symptoms of childhood psychopathology (Crick & Dodge, 1994; Daleiden& Vasey, 1997). The present research program sought to understand the nature ofcognitive biases associated with childhood anxiety, depression, and aggression. Inmeasuring 192 children's (aged 8-14 years) cognitive biases with a number of differenttasks (Dot-Probe Task, Hypothetical Vignettes, Levels of Processing Task), Study 1examined, not just whether processing biases are associated with anxiety, depression,and aggression, but also the extent to which these biases are pervasive across thecognitive modalities of attention, judgement, and memory. Evidence of a generalnegative cognitive schema that is pervasive across these modalities and across anxiety,depression and aggression was found. Study 2 examined the applicability of a cognitive-diathesisstress model to childhood anxiety, depression, and aggression. The recentstressful life events of 114 children (aged 8-14 years), plus their cognitive style,anxious, depressive, and aggressive symptoms were assessed. Evidence of cognitive-diathesisstress model of depression emerged in early adolescence, whilst there was nosupport for this model in anxiety or aggression. Study 3 investigated the behaviours thatanxious, depressed and aggressive children report in response to the cognitive biasesassessed in Studies 1 and 2. The behavioural responses to ambiguous, benign, andnegative hypothetical vignettes of 39 children (aged 9-12 years) were assessed. Despitethe design of the vignettes, highly anxious children interpreted many of the benignvignettes negatively, suggesting that this strength or persistency in interpretative biasesis associated with anxiety. Across these studies there were two background aims; toexamine the developmental trajectory of cognitive biases across middle childhood toearly adolescence and to investigate the nature of negative emotion in childhood.Results from Studies 1 and 2 suggested that cognitive biases are associated withexternalising symptoms in early middle childhood, and with internalising symptoms inlate middle childhood. The factor analyses in Studies 1 (RCMAS and CDI items) andStudy 2 (STAIC, CDI and additional items) consistently extracted an anxiety factor anda depression factor: a three-factor model of negative emotion was not supported