Browsing by Author "Åkerfeldt, Annika"

Objectives. Previous research has found associations between both cognitive ability and anxiety and school performance and anxiety. The nature of these associations is not yet clear however. On one hand, it has been speculated that the optimal development of emotion regulation requires cognitive skills and that performing well at school could protect one from anxiety e.g. through increased feelings of competence. On the other hand, anxiety may interfere with cognitive performance by directing attention to negative thoughts and impair school performance e.g. through absences from school. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance in 12- and 17-year-old youth. Of additional interest were the longitudinal changes in anxiety and cognitive ability in a 5-year follow-up. Methods. The data in this study consisted of the youth who participated in the 12- and 17-year follow-ups (N = 451) of the longitudinal study of Glycyrrhizin in Licorice (GLAKU). Anxiety was assessed using an Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire completed by parents when the participants were 12. When participants were 17, they completed an Achenbach Youth Self Report (YSR) questionnaire. The cognitive ability of the participants was assessed using two subtests of verbal reasoning and two subtests of visual reasoning of Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Information about school performance was gained from parent evaluations. The associations between anxiety, cognitive ability and school performance were examined with negative binomial, logistic and linear regression models. Results and conclusions. In accordance with the diverse and partly controversial results of previous research this study also found the complexity of the associations between cognitive ability and anxiety: On one hand, lower anxiety was associated with better cognitive ability in cross-sectional designs. On the other hand, higher anxiety at the age of 12 was associated with improved performance IQ in a 5-year follow up. However, this association was found only among girls and for boys anxiety had an impairing effect on the development of performance IQ. These results suggest that early support should be targeted especially towards boys with anxiety in order to protect their cognitive development.