Childhood Anxiety: The Contributions of Effortful Control, Interpretation Biases, and Early Life Stress

项目摘要/摘要 这是一份申请国家研究服务奖(NRSA)个人博士前奖学金的申请书 支持申请人的学术生涯发展。申请人在研究生院的经历 为她提供了广泛的机会接触到评估、识别和干预 在不同人群中对儿童焦虑症的研究。通过这些经历，申请人获得了 巩固了对与童年有关的气质和认知风险和保护因素的作用的兴趣 焦虑。本申请以申请人在儿童焦虑方面的基本经验为基础，遵循以下原则 从先前的研究和培训经验中获得合乎逻辑但新颖的进展，并为申请者提供 扩展她的专业知识以成为一名独立调查员所需的技能。该申请提出了 为她的下一步学业轨迹所必需的培训经验，包括1)加强 儿童焦虑症(CAD)领域知识的广度和质量，重点是 气质和认知风险因素在冠心病发病机制中的作用；2)接受统计学方面的高级培训 需要分析多个信息者的方法，多方法评估气质和认知风险，以及 这些风险如何随功能早期生活压力(ELS)暴露而变化；以及3)完善基础研究 技能，如赠款和手稿准备，以及出版和发表研究报告。 一批经过挑选的调查人员的指导将促进申请者在一个有前途的领域的发展 研究。具体地说，这项研究的目标是考察1)作为基础的口译偏差 努力控制与冠心病症状严重程度之间关系的机制；2)ELS作为冠心病症状严重程度的调节因子 对60名临床焦虑儿童(8-12岁)的样本进行了假设的直接和间接影响。这部作品 将提供对可利用的可塑性、气质和认知过程的更好的理解 在预防和治疗冠心病方面，以及确定值得注意的ELS主持人努力 个性化护理，特别是在不同人群中。研究结果也可能直接应用于 通过告知哪些儿童可能最需要关注并确定ELS，为CAD制定跨诊断计划 可能影响治疗反应的因素。本提案中概述的培训和研究将配备 应聘者拥有一套独特的必要技能，能够在这一重要但未被研究的领域提升知识。 从长远来看，这项研究的数据将加强对努力的机制的理解 儿童之间的控制-焦虑联系，并将直接提供信息和战略指导发展 新的治疗方法。该提案和所接受的培训还将向申请人提供试点数据和 完成研究生学位后博士后培训所需的研究技能。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This is an application for a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to support the academic career development of the applicant. The applicant’s experiences during graduate school have afforded her a wide range of opportunities to be exposed to the assessment, identification, and intervention of anxiety disorders in children among diverse populations. Through these experiences, the applicant has solidified an interest in the role of temperamental and cognitive risk and protective factors in relation to childhood anxiety. This application builds on the applicant’s foundational experience in childhood anxiety and follows a logical, but novel, progression from prior research and training experiences and provides the applicant with the skills necessary to expand her expertise to become an independent investigator. The application proposes training experiences that are necessary for the next step in her academic trajectory, including 1) enhancing the breadth and quality of knowledge in the area of childhood anxiety disorders (CAD), with a focus on the mechanistic role of temperamental and cognitive risk factors for CAD; 2) obtaining advanced training in statistical methods needed to analyze multi-informant, multimethod assessments of temperamental and cognitive risk, and how these risks may vary as function early life stress (ELS) exposure; and 3) refining fundamental research skills, such as grantsmanship and manuscript preparation, as well as publication and presentation of research. The mentorship of a select group of investigators will foster the applicant's development in a promising area of research. Specifically, the goals of the proposed study are to examine 1) interpretation biases as an underlying mechanism in the relation between effortful control and CAD symptom severity, and 2) ELS as a moderator of hypothesized direct and indirect effects in a sample of 60 clinically anxious children (ages 8-12 years). This work will provide a greater understanding of malleable temperamental and cognitive processes that can be leveraged in the prevention and treatment of CAD, as well as identify ELS moderators warranting attention in efforts to personalize care, particularly among diverse populations. Findings are also likely to have direct application to transdiagnostic programs for CAD by informing which children may need the most attention and identifying ELS factors that might interfere with treatment response. The training and research outlined in this proposal will equip the candidate with a unique set of necessary skills to advance knowledge in this important yet understudied area. Over the long-term, data from this study will enhance understanding of the mechanisms involved in the effortful control-anxiety connection among children and will directly inform and strategically guide the development of novel treatments. This proposal and the training received will also provide the applicant with the pilot data and research skills necessary for postdoctoral training following completion of her graduate degree.