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Sketchpad Series

Self-Referential Processing Biases in Help-Seeking Youth with Internalizing Problems: Preliminary Insights from Baseline Data of the PRYME Study

Poster Session D - Monday, March 31, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Maud Schepers^1,2,3 (maud.schepers@donders.ru.nl), Paul Lagerweij^1,2,3, Marije Zwaneveld¹, Roshan Cools^1,3, Anne Speckens^2,3, Guusje Collin^1,2,3; ¹Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, ²Expertise Center for Mindfulness, Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, ³Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Internalizing problems, such as worrying, anxiety and low mood are increasingly common in youth and may signal early stages of mental illness development. Negativity biases in self-referential processing are a potential mechanism contributing to the development of internalizing symptoms. Such biases have been linked to sadness and self-dislike in adults with depression (Beevers et al., 2019) and in youth with (subclinical) depression (Auerbach et al., 2015; Connolly et al., 2016). The currently ongoing Promoting Resilience in Youth through Mindfulness mEditation (PRYME) study (https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05916651) investigates the effects of a mindfulness-based early intervention on internalising symptoms and associated cognitive and neural processes in 155 help-seeking youth (16-25 yo). I will present preliminary findings on self- and other-referential processing at baseline, assessed using a Self-Referent Encoding Task (SRET; cf. Derry & Kuiper, 1981). This task measures endorsement of and memory biases for positive and negative trait adjectives. Preliminary results revealed a positive association between the proportion of negative words endorsed as self-relevant and internalizing problems, such that higher negative self-endorsement was associated with higher levels of internalizing problems. While participants generally endorsed positive trait adjectives as self- and other-relevant more than negative trait adjectives, subgroup analysis revealed that individuals diagnosed with depression were more likely to associate negative traits with themselves compared to those without a depression diagnosis. These findings were not evident during the recall or recognition phases. In addition to presenting preliminary baseline findings, I will discuss hypotheses regarding the effects of mindfulness training on self-referential processing and associated neural mechanisms.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Self perception