Developmental Relations Among Behavioral Inhibition, Anxiety, and Attention Biases to Threat and Positive Information

Abstract

This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition (BI) assessed in toddlerhood (n = 268) and attention biases (AB) to threat and positive faces and maternal-reported anxiety assessed when children were 5- and 7-year-old. Results revealed that BI predicted anxiety at age 7 in children with AB toward threat, away from positive, or with no bias, at age 7; BI did not predict anxiety for children displaying AB away from threat or toward positive. Five-year AB did not moderate the link between BI and 7-year anxiety. No direct association between AB and BI or anxiety was detected; moreover, children did not show stable AB across development. These findings extend our understanding of the developmental links among BI, AB, and anxiety.