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Cited by 193Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Life-threatening danger and suppression of attention bias to threat

Bar-Haim, Yair, Holoshitz, Yael, Eldar, Sharon, Frenkel, Tahl I., Muller, David, Charney, Dennis S., Pine, Daniel S., Fox, Nathan A. +1 more·2010·American Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070956
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Life-threatening danger is assumed to produce, in tandem, increases in both vigilance toward threat and stress-related symptoms, but no data test the validity of this assumption. The authors examined associations, in real time, among imminent life-threatening danger, stress-related symptoms, and vigilance. METHOD: Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety were measured in a civilian population (N=131) as a function of war-related stress, operationalized as the time available for seeking cover from rocket attack. A computerized measure of threat-related vigilance using a classic dot-probe attention task was also collected. RESULTS: PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety increased as a function of war-related threat. Acute proximal threat was associated with avoidance of, rather than vigilance toward, negative valence information. For participants within rocket range, the magnitude of threat bias varied with the magnitude of distress symptoms, such that as bias away from threat increased, distress symptoms increased. CONCLUSIONS: These data challenge current thinking about the role of attention in stress responding. Attentional threat avoidance may reduce the acute impact of imminent threat, but this may come at a price in terms of an elevated risk for psychopathology.

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Crossref · 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070956

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  • Avoidance or attenuated AB to threat at longer stimulus durations seem more likely to be associated with high threat or phobia-related stimuli, or high stress.

    “Avoidance or attenuated AB to threat at longer stimulus durations seem more likely to be associated with high threat or phobiarelated stimuli, or high stress (e.g., Bar-Haim et al., 2010;Koster et al., 2005;Mogg & Bradley, 2006;Mogg, Bradley et al., 2004;Mogg, Philippot et al., 2004;Wald et al., 2011; see also Section 4.4.4 on stressors).”

    From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Bar-Haim et al., 2010

  • PTSD is characterized by both a bias towards threat and a bias towards avoidance of threat, resulting in greater attentional variability.

    “The disorder is characterized by both a bias towards threat 109,112 and a bias towards avoidance of the threat 113,114 , resulting in greater attentional variability 115 .”

    From Post‐traumatic stress disorder: a state‐of‐the‐art review of evidence and challenges (2019) · cites this paper as [113]

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Authors
Bar-Haim, Y., Holoshitz, Y., Eldar, S., Frenkel, T. I., Muller, D., Charney, D. S., Pine, D. S., Fox, N. A., & Wald, I.
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
2010-06-01
Volume
167
Issue
6
Pages
694-698
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
DOI
10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070956
OpenAlex
W2012664450
Cited by
193
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 14
FWCI
16.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
threat vigilance, attentional avoidance, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, combat stress, rocket attacks, civilian population, stress response, psychopathology risk
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Anxiety Disorders, Arousal, Attention, Cues, Depressive Disorder, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Repression, Psychology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Young Adult

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