Improved Reliability of Dot Probe Measures with Response-Based Computation: An Application with Young Violence-Exposed Children
Abstract
Background: Anxiety and posttraumatic stress symptoms have been associated with threat-related attention bias assessed in the widely-used dot-probe task. A novel method of scoring attention bias using response-based computation has shown improved reliability over standard computation approaches with adult samples.
Methods: The current study applies this approach using secondary analysis of dot probe data from a sample of preschool-aged children ages 3-7 (n = 280) with varying levels of violence exposure. Attention bias indices were then examined alongside mother-report and observational measures of child anxiety. The standard approach used average reaction times to create a single measure of vigilant or avoidant bias per participant, whereas the response-based computation approach used trial-level reaction times to dissociate separate measures of vigilant and avoidant bias per participant.
Results: The standard computation approach demonstrated unacceptable levels of internal consistency. In contrast, response-based computation of vigilant and avoidant bias demonstrated good and acceptable levels of internal consistency, respectively. Using the standard computation approach, no significant symptom associations were observed. Using the response-based computation approach greater ratio of vigilant bias relative to avoidant bias (i.e., vigilant bias > avoidant bias) was related to more observed anxious behaviors.
Conclusions: Similar to research in adults, response-based…
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