Abstract
This study examined patterns of behavioral and emotional responses to conflict and cooperation in adolescents with anxiety/mood disorders and healthy peers. We compared performance on and emotional responses to the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game, an economic exchange task involving conflict and cooperation, between adolescents with anxiety/depressive disorders (A/D) (N=21) and healthy comparisons (n = 29). Participants were deceived to believe their co-player (a pre-programmed computer algorithm) was another study participant. A/D adolescents differed significantly from comparisons in patterns of play and emotional response to the game. Specifically, A/D participants responded more cooperatively to cooperative overtures from their co-players; A/D girls also reported more anger toward co-players than did comparison girls. Our findings indicate that A/D adolescents, particularly females, respond distinctively to stressful social interchanges. These findings offer a first step toward elucidating the mechanisms underlying social impairment in youth with internalizing disorders.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 567-577 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Anxiety
- Conflict
- Cooperation
- Depression
- Interpersonal interaction
- Prisoner's Dilemma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health