(PS4-D78) The Impact of a COVID-19 Related Loss on Attentional Processes: Evidence from the Emotional Stroop Dilution Task

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread loss of human life, which created substantiative bereavement that contributes to the broader mental health consequences of the pandemic. Although affective attentional processes are implicated in mental health concerns generally, there has been limited research on the influence of COVID-19 related loss on affective attentional processes specifically. To address this gap, the current study investigated the impact of a COVID-19 related loss on affective attentional processes.

Methods: We recruited participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk in a pilot study (Study 1: n = 136) and pre-registered replication (Study 2: n = 206). Self-report data were collected to categorize both COVID-19 related loss as well as broader mental health concerns including symptoms of depression, anxiety, and non-traumatic stress. To measure affective attentional processes, participants completed the Emotional Stroop Dilution Task with word stimuli that were either neutral, generally trauma-related, or specific to COVID-19. To quantify affective attentional processes, we used both novel response-based computation approaches that exhibit superior psychometric properties as well as traditional attention bias computation approaches.

Results: Using response-based measures of attention bias in Study 1, COVID-19 related loss was associated with slower disengagement from COVID-19 specific words b = 0.48 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [0.27, 0.66] and general trauma-related words b = 0.47 95% CI [0.17, 0.80]. In Study 2 (pre-registered replication), we replicated that COVID-19 related loss was associated with slower disengagement to COVID-19 related stimuli b = 0.21 95% CI [0.02, 0.40], corresponding to a difference of approximately 30ms, but not general trauma-related words b = 0.18 95% CI [-0.08, 0.43]. Across both studies associations between COVID-19 related loss and slower disengagement were not meaningfully different after controlling for broader symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.  Using traditional bias measures, we did not observe any associations between COVID-19 related loss and affective attentional processes in Study 1 or Study 2.

Conclusion: Taken together, findings from these studies suggest that experiencing a COVID-19 related loss is associated with dysregulation of affective attentional processes and that this effect is likely to be specific to COVID-related stimuli. In both studies, the associations between COVID-19 related loss and slower disengagement from COVID-19 specific stimuli was present even after accounting for anxiety, depression, and stress. Together, these findings highlight the importance of considering affective attentional processes in better understanding the impact of a COVID-19 loss on mental health concerns. Future research should examine whether treatments designed to address dysregulated affective attentional processes (e.g., attention bias modification) may be useful towards addressing mental health concerns in the wake of COVID-19 related loss