Cognitive biases predict symptoms of depression, anxiety and wellbeing above and beyond neuroticism in adolescence

These findings demonstrate that cognitive biases explain mental health symptoms over and above that of neuroticism. Depressive symptomology was particularly related to self-referential memory bias, while anxiety was predicted by interpretive bias. The key clinical implication is that targeting specific biases based on diagnostic features may be of particular benefit in alleviating distress and promoting wellbeing.