Age‐Related Effects on Self‐Focused Attention Across Adolescence and the Relationship With Symptoms of Body Dysmorphia, Social Anxiety and Depression.

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Title: Age‐Related Effects on Self‐Focused Attention Across Adolescence and the Relationship With Symptoms of Body Dysmorphia, Social Anxiety and Depression.
Authors: Orme, K.1, Stringaris, A.1,2,3, Krebs, G.1 g.krebs@ucl.ac.uk
Source: Journal of Adolescence. Jul2025, Vol. 97 Issue 5, p1396-1406. 11p.
Subject Terms: *Adolescence, *Mental depression, *Secondary schools, Social anxiety, Body dysmorphic disorder
Abstract: Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period for the development of several emotional disorders, including body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), social anxiety disorder (SAD) and depression. It has been suggested that this may be partly due to developmental changes in self‐referential processing, including self‐focused attention (SFA). However, to date little is known about normative changes in self‐focused attention across adolescence. This study investigated age‐related effects on SFA during adolescence, and its relationship with symptoms of BDD, SAD and depression. Methods: A sample of 638 adolescents aged 11–18 years (53% male) were recruited through government‐funded secondary school students in the United Kingdom and completed validated self‐reported measures of SFA, BDD, SAD and depression. Results: Age was positively associated with SFA, and with symptoms of BDD, SAD and depression. The associations of age with SFA, SAD and depression were, on average, greater in females, although this age by sex interaction effect only reached statistical significance for BDD symptoms. SFA fully mediated the effect of age on SAD symptoms, and partially mediated age effects on symptoms of BDD and depression. Conclusions: The current findings indicate that self‐focused attention increases during adolescence. Moreover, findings provide support for the notion that increased self‐focused attention may partly account for the rise in symptoms of BDD, SAD and depression during this developmental period. Future research should seek to establish the direction of effects between self‐focused attention and symptoms using longitudinal designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Adolescence is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Age‐Related Effects on Self‐Focused Attention Across Adolescence and the Relationship With Symptoms of Body Dysmorphia, Social Anxiety and Depression.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Orme%2C+K%2E%22">Orme, K.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stringaris%2C+A%2E%22">Stringaris, A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Krebs%2C+G%2E%22">Krebs, G.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> g.krebs@ucl.ac.uk</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Adolescence%22">Journal of Adolescence</searchLink>. Jul2025, Vol. 97 Issue 5, p1396-1406. 11p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescence%22">Adolescence</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+depression%22">Mental depression</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+schools%22">Secondary schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+anxiety%22">Social anxiety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Body+dysmorphic+disorder%22">Body dysmorphic disorder</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period for the development of several emotional disorders, including body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), social anxiety disorder (SAD) and depression. It has been suggested that this may be partly due to developmental changes in self‐referential processing, including self‐focused attention (SFA). However, to date little is known about normative changes in self‐focused attention across adolescence. This study investigated age‐related effects on SFA during adolescence, and its relationship with symptoms of BDD, SAD and depression. Methods: A sample of 638 adolescents aged 11–18 years (53% male) were recruited through government‐funded secondary school students in the United Kingdom and completed validated self‐reported measures of SFA, BDD, SAD and depression. Results: Age was positively associated with SFA, and with symptoms of BDD, SAD and depression. The associations of age with SFA, SAD and depression were, on average, greater in females, although this age by sex interaction effect only reached statistical significance for BDD symptoms. SFA fully mediated the effect of age on SAD symptoms, and partially mediated age effects on symptoms of BDD and depression. Conclusions: The current findings indicate that self‐focused attention increases during adolescence. Moreover, findings provide support for the notion that increased self‐focused attention may partly account for the rise in symptoms of BDD, SAD and depression during this developmental period. Future research should seek to establish the direction of effects between self‐focused attention and symptoms using longitudinal designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Adolescence is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1002/jad.12505
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 11
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      – SubjectFull: Adolescence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental depression
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social anxiety
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      – SubjectFull: Body dysmorphic disorder
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      – TitleFull: Age‐Related Effects on Self‐Focused Attention Across Adolescence and the Relationship With Symptoms of Body Dysmorphia, Social Anxiety and Depression.
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul2025
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              Y: 2025
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