New FIU study validates tool linking emotional focus to youth anxiety

How a child focuses when upset is far more revealing about their mental health than how they focus when calm, according to FIU psychologists.

In a new study, psychology Ph.D. candidate Krystyna Keller set out to validate the use of a self-report survey originally designed for adults to also evaluate children and adolescents. Surveying 241 kids ages 6 to 17, Keller found the statistics revealed that the tool can be best understood when measuring two specific areas: emotional focusing, the ability to stick with a task when distracted by an upsetting situation, and emotional shifting, the ability to pull their mind away from an emotional trigger. This research showed that kids are much more likely to have anxiety or depression if they can’t focus when they’re upset or if they get stuck on negative emotions.

When you look at how kids handle emotional moments, their basic, everyday ability to focus when they are calm matters. If a kid has a hard time focusing on regular, non-emotional tasks like paying attention to a school assignment, they are more likely to struggle with anxiety and depression.

Throughout this study, researchers found that older youth struggled more with emotional focus than younger children, which contradicts typical developmental expectations that older children have better self-regulation.

“The teenage years are very emotional already,” Keller notes. “A lot of things are changing. In those emotional contexts, it's more difficult for them when their emotions are already heightened.”

According to Keller, several external factors contribute to adolescent stress, including social media and the fact that puberty is occurring earlier for many kids, meaning they are navigating intense hormonal changes before they’re biologically ready.

One of Keller’s concerns is the student who excels academically but struggles internally. Because these children aren't disruptive, their anxiety often goes unnoticed by teachers and manifests in how they navigate different types of attention.

“You never really know what is going on behind closed doors,” Keller says. “I think it’s important not to overlook a child just because they are excelling in school.”

To prevent students from slipping through the cracks, Keller advocates for a collaborative approach to mental health in schools. She suggests teachers implement a check-in system with their students, such as creating a space where students can anonymously share what’s bothering them in a worry box, allowing teachers the opportunity to follow up. In addition, she notes that teachers need more resources and direct access to psychologists or social workers. Integrating coping skills at home and in school curricula also helps buffer the development of anxiety and depression.

“Emotional stability is vital,” Keller says. “Parents can help by modeling healthy regulation and talking about feelings in a calm way or asking for help when needed.”

As the first study to validate the Emotional Attentional Control Scale for a younger demographic, the findings highlight a need for clinicians to evaluate attention within emotional contexts. Keller notes that tracking these emotional focus struggles over time will be key to understanding exactly how they shape the trajectory of youth anxiety and depression.

Keller conducted the study within the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program alongside Jeremy Pettit, executive director of the Center for Children and Families.