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Abstract Background Negative cognitive bias significantly influences the onset, progression, and persistence of depression. However, the detailed aspects of attentional bias within this negative cognitive framework remain insufficiently delineated. This study aimed to (1) employ the attentional blink disengagement effect for assessing cognitive bias in facial emotion recognition among individuals with depressive disorders and (2) explore the specific elements of negative bias in these patients. Methods Thirty-three adolescents diagnosed with depressive disorders and 33 control subjects were selected based on the Depressive Disorder Severity Questionnaire (DDSQ) and psychiatric interviews. A mixed-design emotion-attention blink task (4 SOAs: 0 ms/235 ms/706 ms/1176 ms × 2 tasks: dual task/single task × 2 subgroups: control group/depressive disorder group) was utilized to measure the accuracy of emotion recognition. Differences in negative attentional bias between the two groups were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Results Adolescents with depressive disorders exhibited a negative attentional bias, primarily characterized by difficulties in attentional disengagement. The disparity in this negative attentional bias was most pronounced in scenarios involving exclusively negative emotional faces. Clinical trial registration number ChiCTR2300067671. Conclusion Negative attentional bias is a hallmark of processing styles in patients with depressive disorders. In adolescent patients, this bias in emotion recognition tasks predominantly manifests as difficulties in attentional disengagement.
Zhu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.