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Responses to Conflict and Cooperation in Adolescents with Anxiety and Mood Disorders

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA

    Erin B. McClure

  2. Emotional Development and Affective Neuroscience Branch, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Jessica M. Parrish, Eric E. Nelson, Joshua Easter, John F. Thorne, Monique Ernst & Daniel S. Pine

  3. Departments of Anthropology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    James K. Rilling

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  1. Erin B. McClure
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  2. Jessica M. Parrish
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  3. Eric E. Nelson
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  4. Joshua Easter
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  5. John F. Thorne
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  6. James K. Rilling
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  7. Monique Ernst
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  8. Daniel S. Pine
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Correspondence to Erin B. McClure.

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This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, NIMH.

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McClure, E.B., Parrish, J.M., Nelson, E.E. et al. Responses to Conflict and Cooperation in Adolescents with Anxiety and Mood Disorders. J Abnorm Child Psychol 35, 567–577 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9113-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9113-8

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