Title The neuropsychological assessment of threat-related attention bias in young adults: a cross-sectional study
Translation of Title Grėsmės sukeliamo dėmesio šališkumo neuropsichologinis vertinimas tarp jaunų suaugusiųjų: skerspjūvio tyrimas.
Authors Nazarova, Lalazar
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Pages 34
Keywords [eng] Attentional bias, civilian trauma, COVID-19, cross-sectional study, Karabakh war, neuropsychological assessment, post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, SF-36, threat-related attention, young adults
Abstract [eng] Despite extensive research on PTSD in military veterans, civilian populations exposed to compound trauma remain underrepresented in neuropsychological literature. This master's thesis examines threat-related attentional bias and general health outcomes in young adults who experienced both the 2020 Karabakh war and the COVID-19 pandemic — a population that has received almost no dedicated scientific attention. A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed. Thirty participants (15 male, 15 female; mean age 28.4 ± 3.4 years) were recruited online at Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan, and completed two validated self-report instruments: the SF-36 Health Survey and the 9-item Attentional Bias Questionnaire (ABQ). The primary objective was to determine whether a significant relationship exists between threat-related attentional bias and self-reported general health outcomes. Data were analyzed in R using Spearman correlation coefficients, descriptive statistics, and Shapiro-Wilk normality testing. No statistically significant ABQ-SF36 correlations were found, and the null hypothesis was retained. However, descriptive findings were clinically meaningful. The sample's ABQ item-level mean of 3.42 out of 4 substantially exceeded published normative means of 1.65 to 2.09, with the Difficulty to Disengage subscale reaching 3.76 out of 4. SF-36 results revealed a striking gap between high Physical Functioning (M = 90.67) and very low General Health perception (M = 31.50), with a strong negative correlation between General Health and Vitality (r = -0.72, p < .001). The study concludes that young Azerbaijani civilians exposed to compound trauma show markedly elevated attentional bias toward threat and poor perceived general health despite intact physical functioning. The absence of significant correlations is attributed to limited statistical power, range restriction, and instrument mismatch. This work makes a preliminary contribution to the neuropsychological literature on civilian trauma and demonstrates that the effects of compound trauma are detectable even in non-clinical populations.
Dissertation Institution Vilniaus universitetas.
Type Master thesis
Language English
Publication date 2026