Cognitive biases in childhood anxiety disorders: Do interpretive and judgment biases distinguish anxious youth from their non-anxious peers?

The purpose of this study was to compare interpretive biases (i.e., the tendency to interpret neutral stimuli in a negative way) and judgment biases (i.e., a lowered estimate of one's ability to cope with a threatening situation) in clinically anxious youth (n = 24) with a demographically matched group of non-referred youth (n = 48). Interpretive biases were assessed with the Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CNCEQ) and judgment biases were assessed with the Anxiety Control Questionnaire-child form (ACQ-C). Results indicated that (1) children in the clinic sample exhibited significantly more negative interpretive biases and less positive judgment biases relative to the control sample, (2) the ACQ-C demonstrated incremental validity over the CNCEQ in predicting diagnostic status, (3) the ACQ-C predicted diagnostic status while controlling for Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms, (4) the relationship between the CNCEQ and diagnostic status was moderated by age and gender. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed to highlight suggestions for future research and clinical practice.