An investigation into the contribution of executive function to anxiety preservation vulnerability

Heightened vulnerability to experience the perseveration of anxiety following a stressful event is associated with a number of negative outcomes, including the development of clinical anxiety disorders. This research aimed to determine the cognitive mechanisms underlying anxiety perseveration vulnerability. Deficits in inhibitory attentional control, working memory capacity and working memory updating were assessed across five experiments. Results indicated that these mechanisms did not appear to be associated with anxiety perseveration vulnerability. These findings have significant implications for the conceptualisation of anxiety perseveration vulnerability and the mechanisms believed to be involved in this individual difference dimension.