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Chapter 7 - Late-Life Anxiety and Comorbid Depression

The Role of Attentional Bias

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2021

By
Emily S. Bower  and
Julie Loebach Wetherell
Edited by
Gerard J. Byrne  and
Nancy A. Pachana
Gerard J. Byrne
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Nancy A. Pachana
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
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Summary

Attention bias is a core feature of cognitive models of anxiety and depression (Mathews & MacLeod, 2005), yet relatively little research has been devoted to this construct in older adults. In younger adults, it is well established that anxiety and depression are associated with attentional biases to negative information (Bar-Haim et al., 2007; Peckham et al., 2010). Furthermore, empirical evidence in younger adults suggests a causal role of cognitive bias in the development of emotional disorders (Mathews & MacLeod, 2005), and support for attention bias modification (ABM) as a treatment for anxiety is growing (Kuckertz & Amir, 2015).

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Chapter
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Anxiety in Older People
Clinical and Research Perspectives
 , pp. 97 - 116
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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