Exploring Self-Efficacy and Cognitive Control Across Anxiety Symptoms: Insights from an Anti-Saccade Task

Authors

• AE Ross
• AD Poe
• KM Lewis
• ME Byrne
• EM Cardinale
• SP Haller
• P Khosravi
• DS Pine

Abstract

Anxious individuals tend to score low on measures of self-efficacy (i.e., confidence) compared to their non-anxious peers. Few studies have explored how low self-efficacy impacts performance on a cognitive control task in youth. The purpose of the current study is to assess whether self-efficacy moderates the association between performance and anxiety symptoms. Data from 164 youth (Mean age = 12.7 +/- 2.9, 42% female, 45% Anxious) were analyzed, controlling for age and sex. Participants completed a well-validated cognitive control task, antisaccade (AS), a self-efficacy questionnaire (SEQ), and both parent and child completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) to assess anxiety symptoms. Regression Analyses assessed whether SEQ total score and AS accuracy measures (correct and error rates) were associated with anxiety symptoms. AS accuracy interacted with SEQ total score to predict anxiety symptoms (F(9,102) = 3.01 t (102) = 2.89, p = .002), indicating that self-efficacy moderates the relationship between AS accuracy and anxiety symptoms. Simple slope analysis revealed at lower self-efficacy, better performance (higher accuracy), was associated with lower anxiety symptoms, but at higher self-efficacy, better performance was associated with higher anxiety symptoms (p < .005). The results suggest lower self-efficacy helped participants in our sample by reducing their anxiety symptoms that were associated with performance. In contrast, higher self-efficacy exacerbated their anxiety symptoms from the performance. This complex relationship indicates the importance of considering self-efficacy in managing anxiety symptoms related to task performance.

Scientific Focus Area: Clinical Research

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