Abstract

Despite the importance of attentional control deficits in the development of anxiety symptoms, insufficient studies take a developmental approach to understanding attentional control theory. The study aimed to understand the reciprocal association between attentional control and anxiety symptoms during transition into early adolescence. Using the longitudinal design, the study recruited 321 Chinese children from a primary school with the ages of 9 to 10 years. Children completed inventories to measure attentional control difficulties and anxiety symptoms three times with an interval of 6 months from Grades 3 to 5. Random intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed that attentional control difficulties did not predict the development of anxiety symptoms, and anxiety symptoms did not predict the development of attentional control difficulties from Wave 1 to Wave 2 and from Wave 2 to Wave 3. These findings casted doubt to attentional control theory in the developmental context. Preventions that improve adolescents' attentional control might not necessarily help reduce anxiety symptoms.