Eye Tracking of Fixations Towards Parenting Behaviors
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Mentor Information
Wendy M. Rote PhD
Co-Mentor information
Max Owens, PhD
Description
Research has consistently shown a link between internalizing symptoms and negative attention biases (Platt et al., 2015). For instance, eye-tracking studies have revealed that individuals with depression tend to display a gaze pattern in which they overlook positive stimuli while fixating longer on negative stimuli (Armstrong and Olatunji, 2012). Additionally, negative attention biases may affect how adolescents perceive parenting behaviors. Controlling for parents’ and observers’ perceptions of parenting behaviors, youth with greater internalizing symptoms report more parental shame- and guilt-induction during parent-child interaction tasks (Rote et al., 2021). Despite these findings, little research has investigated whether depressed youth specifically attend more to shame- and guilt-inductive aspects of parenting statements. Therefore, we employed eye-tracking technology to investigate associations between depressive symptoms and visual fixations towards written phrases containing negative affect, attacks on the self, or highlighting one’s self-efficacy. Eighty college students (Mage = 25.32, SD = 6.39, 76.3% female), completed an eye-tracking task in which they read vignettes involving parental shame- or guilt-induction, followed by a survey measuring their depressive symptoms (BDI; Beck et al., 1996). Our results reveal a negative correlation between levels of depression and fixation on phrases attacking the self. Other correlations did not achieve statistical significance. This finding contrasts with the initial hypothesis and can provide insights for future research. Specifically, further investigation is needed to understand why parental behaviors do not become a fixation for those with internalizing issues as the negative attention bias would predict.
Eye Tracking of Fixations Towards Parenting Behaviors
Research has consistently shown a link between internalizing symptoms and negative attention biases (Platt et al., 2015). For instance, eye-tracking studies have revealed that individuals with depression tend to display a gaze pattern in which they overlook positive stimuli while fixating longer on negative stimuli (Armstrong and Olatunji, 2012). Additionally, negative attention biases may affect how adolescents perceive parenting behaviors. Controlling for parents’ and observers’ perceptions of parenting behaviors, youth with greater internalizing symptoms report more parental shame- and guilt-induction during parent-child interaction tasks (Rote et al., 2021). Despite these findings, little research has investigated whether depressed youth specifically attend more to shame- and guilt-inductive aspects of parenting statements. Therefore, we employed eye-tracking technology to investigate associations between depressive symptoms and visual fixations towards written phrases containing negative affect, attacks on the self, or highlighting one’s self-efficacy. Eighty college students (Mage = 25.32, SD = 6.39, 76.3% female), completed an eye-tracking task in which they read vignettes involving parental shame- or guilt-induction, followed by a survey measuring their depressive symptoms (BDI; Beck et al., 1996). Our results reveal a negative correlation between levels of depression and fixation on phrases attacking the self. Other correlations did not achieve statistical significance. This finding contrasts with the initial hypothesis and can provide insights for future research. Specifically, further investigation is needed to understand why parental behaviors do not become a fixation for those with internalizing issues as the negative attention bias would predict.
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Poster Presentation