• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.75-84
• /
• 2019

Addicts pay more attention to addiction-related cues, such as substance or behavior. And increased attention to these cues is associated with craving. Methamphetamine is the most abused drug among domestic drug offenders, with continually increasing rates of recidivism. Of the total number of reported drug offenders in the last three years, 21.1 percent have been women. Even so, research on female drug offenders is inadequate, rendering policies and fundamental data for the development of psychotherapy programs insufficient. The present study intended to investigate whether female methamphetamine addicts displayed an attention bias towards drug cues. A dot probe task was conducted on 22 female methamphetamine addicts (addiction group) and 22 non-addicts (control group). The task allowed the correct response rates and correct reaction times of the participants to be calculated according to the positioning of the drug and neutral cues. The analysis results revealed that the control group displayed no difference in correct reaction rates and correct reaction times between the drug or neutral cues. While, the addiction group showed lower correct response rate and slower response time for drug cues in comparison to neutral cues. The results of this study are significant in that it identified the attention bias characteristics toward drug cues of female methamphetamine addicts who were disconnected from drugs.

• Korean Journal of School Psychology
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.207-230
• /
• 2019

This study examined the effect of Attention Feedback Awareness and Control Training(A-FACT) on attention bias and generalized anxiety symptoms in college students. A total of 31 college students with at least 10 points on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale or at least 56 points on the Korean version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (K-PSWQ) with attention bias were randomly assigned to one of three groups: A-FACT( n = 11), Attention Bias Modification (ABM)(n = 10) and Active Placebo Control (APC)(n = 10). Participants in A-FACT group received real-time feedback on attention bias based on their Baseline Neutral Response time(BNR) during A-FACT using a dot probe task. Participants in the ABM group received standard ABM, and those in the APC performed a dot probe task that they were informed was a program to reduce attention bias, but feedback was not provided. A total of eight sessions was conducted twice a week over a 4-week period. After every two sessions, GAD-7, K-PSWQ and K-STAI were rated. The effect of attention bias modification training was rated by changes in the Attention Bias Score(ABS), and in GAD-7, K-PSWQ and K-STAI scores. The results of repeated measure ANOVA indicated that the A-FACT group showed a significant decrease in ABS as well as in GAD-7, K-PSWQ and K-STAI scores compared to the other groups. Current results suggest that self-regulatory control of attention, that is, recognition of bias through feedback in A-FACT, may be effective in alleviating attention bias and generalized anxiety symptoms by recognizing bias through feedback on bias in attention bias modification training.