Attention Bias Modification Training: Efficacy Study of Novel Treatment for Anxiety in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders

Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) is an emerging evidenced-based treatment for anxiety. A number of randomized controlled trials demonstrate that ABMT reduces attentional biases to threat, symptoms of anxiety, and vulnerability to stress in adult populations. Despite these promising findings, only one published study has examined the efficacy of ABMT in treating childhood anxiety, which is the most common mental illness of childhood, and no studies to date have explored the applicability of ABMT for treating anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a disorder associated with abnormally high rates of anxiety. This relative dearth of research is surprising when considering that many children do not receive treatment and only half of children who receive existing front-line treatments demonstrate positive treatment gains. To address this gap in the literature, the proposed randomized controlled study will examine the feasibility and efficacy of employing ABMT in treating anxiety in children with and without ASD. 80 children (40 with ASD) and high levels of trait anxiety will be randomly assigned to receive active treatment or placebo treatment. The effect of ABMT on attention bias, anxiety symptomology, and vulnerability to stress will be assessed immediately following treatment and at four-months follow up. This study will contribute critically to the childhood anxiety literature by examining and testing a novel evidenced-based treatment alternative.