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Research has increasingly focused on understanding and improving students' academic performance. Academic success rests not only on academic factors but influences such as motivation and self-efficacy. Educators and policymakers alike are interested in improving students' mathematics performance. Students experience pressure to perform, especially in high-stakes exams. This study explored the issues facing students learning mathematics with two papers; a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating whether self-efficacy and mathematics self-efficacy interventions improve mathematics performance, and a qualitative study to explore students' experiences resitting the high-stakes General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) mathematics exams. The first paper conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions for self-efficacy or mathematics self-efficacy that aimed to positively change the mathematics performance in students aged 11-25 years. Twenty-two papers were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis on the mathematics performance outcome produced an average random effect of g = 0.21, 95% CI[0.02, 0.41]. The results indicated that the included interventions had a small but significant effect on mathematics performance. Issues with the instruments used in the included studies and with the studies' designs were highlighted. The heterogeneity across the studies and the small number of studies available were considered in interpreting the results. In the second paper, eleven Further Education college students aged 16-19 years were interviewed about their experiences of resitting the GCSE mathematics exams. The data were coded using inductive framework analysis. Thematic analysis was used to develop four themes; 1) Struggling with Mathematics, 2) Learning That Works, 3) Relying on Others, 4) Being Left Behind. The findings show a complex picture of students who had previous negative education experiences but re-engaged with learning. Student-teacher relationships were found to be key for students to re-engage in learning and be confident in mathematics. The implications of the findings from the papers for practitioners, researchers and policymakers are discussed.

Children in alternative care who live away from their biological parents are at great risk of experiencing developmental difficulties and attachment insecurity. This project studied the effects of care type and attachment relationship on psychosocial development in three groups of children in Saudi Arabia: abandoned children living in institutional care; children living with non-biological parents; and those living with their biological parents aged 8- 12 years. Chapter 1 describes the nature of alternative care with a focus on institutional and adoption care settings, and provides a cultural context to understand the nature of these groups. Chapter 2 outlines attachment theory as a framework and covers previous research outcomes regarding emotional and behavioural symptoms, sociality, self-perception, cognitive function and attachment relationship. Chapter 3 provides a description of institutional care for abandoned children in terms of care policy and structure, programmes and services, as well as the behaviour of caregivers and opportunities for staff training. Chapter 4 considers the validity of the translation and adaptation of two scales measuring loneliness, social dissatisfaction, and self-perception for the subsequent chapters. Chapter 5 looks at psychosocial development and cognitive function in alternative care, and finds more psychosocial problems and poor cognitive functioning in institutionalised children. Chapter 6 looks at attachment concepts in the three groups, showing a higher prevalence of the secure pattern in children living at home, compared to institutional residents. Chapter 7 collates data from Chapters 5 and 6 to determine whether a relationship between care type and attachment insecurity contributes to psychosocial challenges. The results revealed no significant interaction, but attachment insecurity was the most influential predictor of psychosocial difficulties across the sample. Chapter 8 summarises the key findings of the thesis, and compares them with previous research that has utilised attachment theory to understand developmental outcomes in children who live in different care settings. It further discusses how the findings can inform future research, and the development of prevention and intervention programmes, in terms of theory and practice, for children in Saudi Arabia who live in institutional care.

The role and importance of parents on children's emotional development is well documented. Within this literature, theoretical models focus on the ways in which parents socialise their children, highlighting processes such as observational learning, discussion of emotion, and parenting practices related to the management of children's emotion. Family relationships and, specifically, the parent-child relationship have been emphasised as important contexts for development. Until recently, theoretical models of parental socialisation of emotion generally have not, however, accounted for the specific characteristics of the parent-child relationship. Further, limited research has considered what factors may influence parental socialisation, with emerging research arguing that parental emotional functioning may be a key factor in this. This thesis proposed a theoretical model of emotion development in which maternal emotional functioning predicted child adjustment via the quality of the parent-child relationship and children's emotional functioning. Emotional functioning was defined as emotion regulation, understanding and neural processing of cross-modal emotion, and in ii mothers included the related constructs of anxiety and depression symptoms. The parentchild relationship quality was characterised as being negative or positive, and children's adjustment was operationalised as internalising and externalising symptoms, and prosocial behaviour. This thesis first systematically reviewed the available evidence for a direct relationship between parental and child emotional functioning at both the behavioural and neural level. Second, to test the proposed model, this thesis explored the associations between parental and child emotional functioning, the parent-child relationship and child adjustment concurrently and over time in mothers and their preschool children (i.e. threeto-five-years-old). A multimethod approach was used, including questionnaires, interactive tasks, observations and event-related potentials (ERPs). This thesis also aimed to identify a novel neural marker of cross-modal emotion processing in children. The systematic review indicated considerable heterogeneity across studies in terms of sample characteristics (e.g. ages of children) and methods (e.g., whether questionnaires, observations, or experimental). The findings from these studies reported consistent empirical support for the direct association between emotion regulation in parents and children, and provided inconsistent evidence for associations between parents' and children's recognition of emotion. This review also highlighted a lack of neuroscientific and longitudinal studies; two aspects the subsequent papers of the current thesis aimed to address. In the first empirical study of this thesis, analyses considering concurrent associations at Time 1 highlighted key maternal factors, in particular maternal use of suppression and neural processing of emotion, associated with children's emotional functioning and adjustment. In support of the theoretical model, maternal negativity was found to mediate the relationship between maternal P2 amplitudes to fear and children's emotion knowledge. Few other associations were observed between maternal emotional iii functioning and child outcome. Maternal positivity was observed as a predictor of children's externalising symptoms, via children's emotion lability. The LPP was identified as a marker of children's cross-modal emotion processing, finding LPP amplitudes to happy faces to be negatively associated with children's prosocial behaviour concurrently and across time. The second empirical study was longitudinal in design, and reviewed evidence for the proposed theoretical model from the same study cohort at Time 2. Few significant associations were found in support of the model for the concurrent Time 2 data. Furthermore, there was limited support for the proposed model from the longitudinal analyses. Maternal anxiety at Time 1 was identified as a key predictor of later adjustment, predicting later school adjustment over and above concurrent anxiety. Across time points, child emotion regulation and lability were observed as a key factors in determining children's psychosocial and academic adjustment. Taken as a whole, this thesis provides evidence that maternal anxiety and child emotion regulation are strongly linked to children's adjustment in this age group. It is therefore suggested that to deliver successful and impactful support, maternal anxiety and child emotion regulation are key targets for intervention prior to the transition into primary school. Further larger scale replication of this work is needed.

Researchers have increasingly focused on the role of attentional control in understanding social and cognitive outcomes in anxiety. Attentional Control Theory (ACT; Eysenck et al., 2011) suggests that anxious individuals exert increased effort to achieve academic and social goals. Compared with non-anxious peers this process can be reflected in lowered processing efficiency (i.e., processing time is slowed down to ensure that goals are met). This thesis provides a systematic review of empirical research to explore evidence supporting the proposition that increased anxiety impacts processing on cognitive tasks via reduced processing efficiency in children and young people. In addition, it utilised this framework to explore known links between anxious affect and increased challenges with peer relationships. Specifically, it investigated whether reduced efficiency in the processing of cognitive (i.e., time taken to complete a picture naming task) and social information (i.e., longer durations to respond to peers in a social interaction task with shared goals) may provide some explanation for links between poor peer relationships and increased anxiety symptoms in childhood. 91 children aged 9-10 years took part in a sociometry task, providing a measure of peer acceptance. Of these children, N = 51 self-reported anxiety symptoms, completed measures of cognitive processing and took part in dyadic peer interactions. Mediation analysis found verbal cognitive processing speed mediated the relationship between social anxiety and academic attainment, as well as between social anxiety and social performance (i.e. number of inappropriate comments during peer interaction). No relationship was found between social anxiety and peer acceptance (as measured by sociometry). The results have implications for the prevention and intervention of difficulties with social functioning in anxiety that focus on the role of attention.

A growing body of evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) manifests differently in females than males, including in the domains of social interaction and communication, and that there may be a female specific phenotype of the condition. Previous research investigating sex/gender differences in these domains has predominantly been based on ‘gold-standard’ instruments which may not be sensitive to the female phenotype. In addition, studies have often failed to include typically developing males and females, and are therefore unable to account for sex/gender differences found in the general population. Accordingly, Chapter 1 presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 studies that investigated sex/gender differences in social communication and interaction in autistic and neurotypical males and females. In order to overcome potential diagnostic bias against females, only studies that reported fine-grained subdomains of the DSM-5 ASD criteria, not measured used diagnostic instruments were included. It was found that females with autism had significantly better social interaction and communication than males with autism, which was reflective of sex/gender differences for neurotypical individuals. In addition, both neurotypcial males and females had significantly better social interaction and communication than autistic males and females, though this difference was smaller for females, which sheds light on social camouflaging and the underecogniton of autism in females. Chapter 2 presents an empirical investigation of sex/gender differences in social camouflaging and compensation. Children and adolescents aged 8-14 years completed a drawing task with a research in order to measure their social reciprocity, as well as a theory of mind task. The final sample comprised 22 males with autism/high autistic traits, 18 females with autism/high autistic traits, 22 neurotypical males, and 22 neurotypical females. Females with autism/high autistic traits were found to have significantly higher social reciprocity than males with autism/high autistic traits, but very similar levels of theory of mind. In addition, females with autism/high autistic traits had almost identical levels of social reciprocity to neurotypical females, whereas males with autism/high autistic traits had significantly lower social reciprocity than neurotypical males. Overall, these results provide evidence of greater levels of social camouflaging and compensation in autistic females than males, which may delay intervention for the social difficulties they experience.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety co-occur at above chance levels in both clinical and sub-clinical cases. However, little is known about the underlying neuropsychological basis of this overlap. In this thesis, we addressed this question by exploring a pattern of dysfunctional cognitive control linked to these conditions. Our hypothesis was that ADHD would be associated with core deficits in cognitive control in both non-emotional and emotional contexts. In addition, we anticipated cognitive control deficits in anxiety to manifest in situations involving processing of emotional stimuli and particularly in threat contexts. Furthermore, we predicted that the combination of these cognitive control challenges would be exacerbated in the case of co-occurring ADHD and anxiety. We investigated these hypotheses using eye-movement measurements in a Go/NoGo paradigm to examine inhibitory control (i.e., suppression of reflexive saccades) and sustained attention (i.e., saccadic execution) in emotional and non-emotional contexts. We also designed an eye-movement version of the Spatial Cueing paradigm to examine attentional orienting in the presence of emotional cue distractors using representations of another person's eye-gaze. The current thesis contains four empirical chapters discussing the relationship between ADHD and anxiety symptom dimensions (and their interaction) on task performance. We examined the Go/No-Go task using symptoms of ADHD and anxiety in typically developing (TD) children/adolescents (n= 27) and healthy adults (n=27) (Chapter 3), and symptoms of ADHD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in a larger sample of children and adolescents (n=68), that included both TD children/adolescents and clinical cases of ADHD and anxiety (Chapter 4). We then examined the Spatial Cueing task in the same samples across Chapters 5 and 6. High levels of ADHD were associated with impaired inhibitory control and disrupted processing, in the context of threat (such as angry faces) (Chapter 3) with reduced sustained attention regardless of the emotional valence of the stimuli used (Chapter 4). Individuals with ADHD did not effectively use social cues (i.e., poorer attentional orienting), especially in the presence of negative emotional expressions (such as angry and fearful faces) relative to other emotional expressions (Chapters 5 and 6). Anxiety symptoms were associated with faster processing of negative facial expressions (Chapter 3) and improved attentional orienting following social cues of negative emotional expressions, relative to other facial expressions (Chapter 5). Anxiety was also associated with better attentional orienting following social cues of angry faces relative to fearful faces (Chapter 6). In terms of the interactions between anxiety and ADHD, elevated anxiety symptoms were associated with attenuation of disrupted attentional processes found in ADHD including faster processing of negative emotional expressions relative to positive ones (Chapter 3 and 4), improved sustained attention (Chapter 4) and better attentional orienting processes (Chapters 5 and 6). Overall, our results showed that ADHD was associated with deficits in cognitive control, particularly in emotionally charged contexts. However, anxiety was associated with improved attentional processes in response to negative emotional stimuli. Contrary to our predictions, we found that co-occurring ADHD and anxiety were associated with improved attentional control and emotional processing. Overall, the synergistic effects between ADHD and anxiety provide evidence towards a potentially distinct cognitive phenotype.

The first chapter presents a systematic review on the literature quantifying patterns of disfluency in autistic populations. Disfluencies are hypothesised to be an interruption of a speech plan with approximately 6% of spontaneous speech being disfluent. Around half of the autistic population display quantitatively and qualitatively different speech patterns compared with the neurotypical population. Therefore, these different speech patterns could represent a behavioural marker for autism. Twelve studies were screened and met the following inclusion criteria: empirical studies quantifying types of disfluencies in autism, with a sample size greater than five, and the inclusion of a neurotypical comparison group. The results indicated that filled pauses were produced significantly less frequently by autistic individuals relative to neurotypical controls. Autistic individuals produced significantly higher amounts of unfilled pauses, repetitions, and repairs than neurotypical groups. The pattern of results suggest that there may be meaningful differences in the production of disfluencies between autistic and neurotypical individuals. However, there are a number of methodological and conceptual issues (unaccounted moderating and mediating variables, varied methodologies, heterogeneity of autism) to overcome before meaningful conclusions can be drawn and generalised. The purpose of the empirical study was to address the methodological issues that fewer pauses found previously in autistic groups may simply reflect sex differences rather than a phenotypic expression of autism due to sex-imbalanced groups. We included nearly equal numbers of males and females, to compare the use of filled pauses (Um, Uh) between autistic and neurotypical participants, and between sex, as well as the interaction between the two. In addition, filled pause use was also examined to investigate the linguistic camouflaging hypothesis. Eighty-four participants aged 8-13 from mainstream schools completed interviews (structured, unstructured) as well as tests measuring their verbal and nonverbal IQ. Neither significant main effects nor interactions were found for all indices for the structured task. For the unstructured task, no interactions were found. However, autistic participants produced a significantly higher proportion of Um to total words than neurotypical participants. Males produced a significantly higher proportion of Uhs than females, and females produced a higher Um ratio than males. Differences in filled pause production was affected by the type of interviews. The linguistic camouflaging hypothesis was disconfirmed. Future research should include larger samples (e.g., more females in the autistic group, children with high traits), different task types, and listeners’ perceptions in order to further understand filled pauses in autism.

Children and young people on the autism spectrum show elevated anxiety levels in comparison to typically developing peers and those with other special educational needs. However, despite the significant time spent in school, few researchers have focused on how the school environment contributes to elevated anxiety levels in autism. A systematic review of the literature was conducted, exploring causes of anxious affect for autistic adolescents attending mainstream school. Experiences in the school environment that were highlighted as sources of anxiety included adverse noises, the behaviour of others and the social identity of autistic pupils. Additionally, academic pressure, transitions, disliked subjects, homework and handwriting were highlighted as sources of anxiety. Key frameworks of anxiety and autism (Boulter et al., 2014; Wood & Gadow, 2010) were used to understand these findings. An empirical study was also conducted to explore how the secondary school experience contributed to elevated anxiety following the Intolerance of Uncertainty framework of anxiety and autism proposed by Boulter et al. (2014). A school-based sample of 30 autistic adolescents aged 11-14, took part in the study. Parents completed measures of anxiety, sensory processing, autism symptom severity, and teachers completed a measure of social skills. Participants on the autism spectrum completed a measure of the number and types of experiences causing feelings of anxiety in the school social and learning environment. Indirect pathways from sensory sensitivities and social and environmental experiences in school to anxiety symptoms through intolerance of uncertainty were then tested. Findings supported and extended the key framework of anxiety in autism proposed by Boulter et al. (2014), demonstrating significant indirect pathways from experiences in school, sensory sensitivities and autism traits to anxiety through intolerance of uncertainty.

The aetiology of SA is complex; its onset is impacted on by several factors and their interaction including genetic (e.g., temperament), environmental risk (e.g., maternal overprotection) and cognitive risk. This review examined research that explores the impact of acute and chronic environmental risk and resilience factors (e.g., parenting style, SES, parental separation experiences, paternal absence and traumatic experiences) on the aetiology of SA symptoms and SAD, specifically for school-aged children and adolescents (aged 2-18). The review used three electronic databases for the literature search, a combined search in Psychinfo and Medline via EBSCO and ERIC. Following a systematic method, 18 papers were selected for analysis. Eight risk factors in school-aged children and adolescents were identified. These linked to themes of parenting styles, parent separation, traumatic experiences, socioeconomic status and early risk. Three potential resilience factors were also identified through the process of this review: parent-offspring relationship, access to therapeutic support and planned separation experiences. Findings are discussed in relation to theory and research to inform intervention for SA and SAD in educational settings and Educational Psychologist’s (EPs) practice. Limitations are explored and future research is discussed. Cognitive models of anxiety propose a cognitive-behavioural representation of information processing biases, demonstrating the inter-relationship between the thoughts and actions of an individual. Theoretical models highlight family and parenting factors that contribute to intergenerational transmission of anxiety (parent to offspring) and cognitive processes. Little research has focused on the emergence of specific anxiety disorders in high-risk groups and investigated these interrelationships. Military families have been described as being at greater risk to threat exposure due to unique family and environmental factors (e.g., transitions and deployments). The present research explored the association between parent and offspring anxiety, interpretation biases and parenting variables in a military family population. Twenty-nine mother/child dyads (8-11 years) completed a word interpretation bias task of threatening (general and separation themes) and neutral words and reported their negative affects via questionnaires. Parenting was measured via the Five-Minute Speech Sample, which assesses expressed emotion (e.g., warmth and relationship). Positive and significant correlations between parent- and children’s- self-reported negative affects were found (ps < .50). Child cognitive interpretation bias was associated with children’s reports of anxiety. No associations for parent cognitive biases were found. Parent reports of child separation anxiety were positively and significantly correlated with number of deployments (ps<.50). Parenting variables were not associated with increased reports of negative affect in mothers or offspring. Mediation models explored the association with mothers’ own anxiety and the development of biases in offspring via increases in the child’s reports of their own anxiety. Two indirect effects approached significance. Findings are discussed in relation to the development of anxiety and explore the mechanisms involved in the transmission of anxiety from parent to offspring.

Selective mutism (SM) is a rare condition of early childhood characterised by a lack of speech in certain social situations where it is expected (usually at school). SM shares many characteristics with social anxiety and is associated with a range of academic and social impairments. Several reviews have explored the literature to identify which treatment modality for SM is most effective. These reviews have not considered what factors might moderate outcomes but recent frameworks suggest that informant discrepancies in report measures might potentially moderate the perceived success of an intervention. The present study reviewed 11 studies to explore differences between the perceptions of change in a child's behaviour as reported by parents versus teachers following psychosocial interventions for SM. In the reviewed studies, parents and teachers were asked to independently rate outcomes relating to speech and/or a child's affective state. Patterns in informant discrepancy varied with speech outcomes showing greater informant correspondence than affective outcomes. Implications from these findings include the recommendation that teachers are well positioned to monitor the outcomes of SM interventions and that intervention should be designed to target affective outcomes in addition to speech. Despite the implication that teachers have a significant role to play in intervention relatively little is known about how this group's perceptions of SM impact on the support pupils receive. In order to address this the empirical paper used qualitative, grounded theory methods to construct an explanatory theory to represent primary school teachers' experiences of working with pupils with SM. Eleven participants (3 male) were interviewed following a semi-structured interview approach. Transcripts of each interview were analysed using a social constructionist approach to grounded theory. The theory captured five core categories which linked together to show the key aspects of the participants' experiences. 1) Categorisation: Teachers' beliefs about SM caused them to place the behaviour into specific categories of understanding. 2) Teacher as a Scientific Enquirer: Teachers engaged in a process of enquiry, generating hypotheses and testing them to better understand the pupil. 3) Supporting Pupils: These two processes impacted on the type of support teachers put in place. 4) Measuring and Monitoring: captured the impact of monitoring pupil progress and the teachers' desired outcomes. 5) Responding Emotionally: These interlinked processes produced an emotional response in the teacher. Participants' experiences of the five core categories were influenced by four contextual factors including 1) the Pupil's Profile, 2) their Peer Relationship, 3) the teachers' Staff Relationships and 4) the Staff Self-Identity. The findings suggested that the teacher's categorisation of SM influenced the support they put in place for pupils. Categorisation can be altered through the process of Scientific Enquiry. Teachers need access to accurate information about SM in order to develop their categorisations and improve their support strategies. Educational Psychologists are well-placed to provide support with this.

Many real-world tasks involve interacting with a range of electronic visual displays. Maintaining rapid and accurate performance on such tasks may be difficult due to situational stress, time-pressure, and an awareness of high error-costs. In a typical visual search, relevant target items must be identified amongst irrelevant distractors, but in a dynamic display all of these stimuli may undergo change. Much of the literature on visual search and monitoring examines static arrays and scenes, but dynamic displays present a more complex problem that involves greater demands on sustained attention and higher levels of both spatial and temporal uncertainty. The present thesis investigates visual search and monitoring using a novel dynamic search task and examines some of the individual factors that influence performance on this task. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction and review of the literature on visual search, relevant individual factors and two potentially beneficial interventions. Chapter 2 introduces and characterises a novel dynamic search task and, across three experiments, demonstrates predictive monitoring and the importance of individual differences in verbal working memory capacity and intolerance of uncertainty in accounting for variation in search performance. Chapter 3 shows that working memory training and transcranial direct current stimulation were not effective in improving search performance, but does reveal that target prevalence influenced target detection, predictive monitoring and the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and search performance. Chapter 4 demonstrates similarities in the monitoring of colour and numerical information and shows that the need to search for a second category of target can have a negative impact on search performance and predictive monitoring. Finally, Chapter 5 summarises the findings from the empirical work in the preceding chapters and identifies a number of important theoretical and practical implications. Further work should continue to examine the contribution of individual variation in cognitive, personality and psychopathological traits to performance in complex visual tasks.

The structural nature of the world often provides a clear guide to where sought objects are likely to appear, as well as the kind of objects they may repeatedly appear in the presence of. The relationship between the targets, distractors and the landscape provides context, which ensures efficient search. This thesis will explore the dynamics of how knowledge of the environment ahead will inform search on future presentation of those scenes, as well as explore how several factors between individuals (such as cognitive resources, or tendencies towards anxiety) may influence search and learning processes. This thesis reports three studies using a new eye movement experimental paradigm termed the repeated scenes search task (RSST). This task presented scenes taken on a route around a suburban neighbourhood as search arrays, while participants searched for target superimposed in naturalistic locations. The scenes were presented on 8 occasions in each experiment, and performance improved with number of repeats. In the experimental chapters the influence of scene order on search was examined with targets appearing in several contingencies with relation to scene identity and compared between the scenes appearing in a consistent or randomised order. Subtle benefits to search were found when scenes were presented in a consistent order. The influence of boosting WM and inducing a state of anxiety upon participant responses (via more efficient eye movements) were also examined. The impact of these findings upon the general literature and with regard to individuals searching in dangerous environments are discussed, with the key finding that attentional networks, working memory and a state of anxiety are important factors to consider in search through familiar environments.

Reductions in school refusal behaviour (SRB), defined as a general difficulty with attending or remaining in school, have been a longstanding strategic priority for schools, local authorities and central government. Research into risk factors associated with SRB is vital for the development of effective assessment and intervention practices to address the problem. A systematic literature review, embedded within a theoretical framework of risk and resilience, was conducted to appraise the research evidence into anxiety as a risk factor for SRB. Twenty-one studies were reviewed, spanning the past three decades. Support was gained for anxiety as a significant risk factor for SRB in some cases, but not as an overall or central explanation for the problem. The need was highlighted in future research for collective commitment towards addressing a range of terminological, methodological and reporting issues in order to improve comparability between studies, and increase the generalisability of findings. The incorporation of physiological measures of anxiety in conjunction with self-report measures was proposed as a potentially fruitful extension for future investigations. The empirical paper presented a pilot study which extended previous research comparing anxious high-attenders with anxious low-attenders. The sample comprised 13 girls in Year 8 (n=9) and Year 9 (n=4) attending an average-sized mainstream secondary school, who reported elevated anxiety. The girls were grouped by attendance: high (n=7, M=99.7%, SD=0.63) and low (n=6, M=92.2%, SD=1.58). Physiological measures of psychological stress (i.e. heart rate variability: HRV) and sleep, assessed using electrocardiogram and wrist actigraphy respectively, were incorporated within an exploration of anxiety, sleep and sense of belonging as factors that may differentiate between the two groups. The groups did not differ on sense of belonging or any indices of psychopathology by self-report, nor on any physiological measures of sleep or psychological stress at the beginning of the week. However, the high attendance group showed non-significant trends towards poorer sleep quality and lower HRV, at the end of the week. The findings tentatively challenge the assumption that anxious students who sustain high attendance in school are demonstrating psychological resilience. Implications for Educational Psychology practice and future research are discussed.

Neurocognitive models of anxiety highlight the importance of attentional control and prefrontal control mechanisms and posit that anxiety is characterised by impaired effectiveness and efficiency during inhibition, especially under high cognitive load and in the presence of threat-related stimuli (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007). The current thesis utilised behavioural, oculomotor, pupillary, and neurophysiological measures to examine the inefficient/ineffective inhibitory control and increased cognitive effort in high (vs. low) anxious individuals in the presence and absence of threat under high and low cognitive load conditions. Across three experiments, the results demonstrated that, high (vs. low) trait anxious individuals exert increased effort (as evidenced by increased pupillary responses) and invest more attentional resources during response preparation (as evidenced by decreased negative frontal neurophysiological responses), yet they have impaired inhibitory control (as evidenced by slower and erroneous oculomotor responses and less negative inhibition-related neurophysiological responses), especially under high cognitive load. These findings indicate inefficient inhibitory processing and ineffective inhibitory performance in high trait anxious individuals, especially when the task demands are high.

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to explore the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in comparison to their typically developing (TD) peers. The CAR, characterised by an increase in cortisol in the 30-60 minutes after waking, is widely becoming used as a physiological marker of stress in the general population. Given the prevalence of anxiety and stress reported in people with ASD, this review aimed to explore whether children with ASD show the expected pattern of CAR seen in the general population, and therefore, whether this would be a useful way of measuring stress in this population. Results from the meta-analysis indicated no significant differences in CAR demonstrated by children with or without ASD. However, the review highlighted limitations in the current research; a lack of adherence to recommended CAR sampling protocol, few studies with a matched control group, and poor control of potentially confounding variables. The review highlighted wide variability in results shown by ASD groups across studies, indicating the need for further exploration of the CAR in this population to be confident of its use as a reliable marker of physiological stress in this group. The subsequent empirical paper extended the current literature regarding the CAR in children with ASD, and contributes to the understanding of the experience of anxiety in this population. Using a mixed methods design incorporating questionnaires, interviews, physiological data (cortisol) and experience sampling data, the study explored the experience of anxiety and CAR compared to a matched control group. Results indicate a significantly smaller CAR in ASD group compared to TD, but overall comparable daily levels of cortisol (AUC). Results also show discrepancies between informants for both groups. ASD adolescents self-reported significantly fewer symptoms of anxiety than their TD peers, whilst parents and teachers of ASD adolescents reported significantly more symptoms in this group compared with the TD group. Self-reported day-to-day anxiety was also lower in the ASD group. TD adolescents self-reported higher attentional control than ASD peers. Experience sampling data indicated no significant association between cortisol levels and rated emotions at each time point. For both groups, experience sampling data indicated higher cortisol levels were associated with lower noise, unstructured activity and large group sizes. The study highlights the need for further, controlled exploration of the CAR in ASD to understand the differences in patterns shown, and further exploration of appropriate ways of assessing anxiety in this population.

Literature Review: Pathways to social anxiety often reflect a set of complex and interacting factors including intrinsic and environmental factors. Theoretical models of social anxiety have highlighted that children and adolescents’ peer experiences can increase risk for social anxiety. This systematic review explored the role of peers in the development of social anxiety in adolescent girls. It aimed to identify peer-related risk factors (i.e., peer acceptance, peer attachment, friendship quality, peer support, and victimisation) that place adolescents at risk for social anxiety, including those specific to girls. The results showed that while some peer experiences were relevant to understanding risk across genders, others placed girls at increased risk. For example, low peer acceptance was significantly associated with increased social anxiety in boys and girls, both concurrently and over time. Those factors that placed girls at increased risk of social anxiety and avoidance, relative to boys, included limited close friendships, negative friendship experiences and relational victimisation. The review suggested that researchers might usefully start to develop frameworks that capture generic as well as gender-specific risk for social anxiety. These will facilitate the development of prevention and intervention methods to support girls at increased risk, that focus on improving the quality of their peer relationships. Empirical Paper: The onset of adolescence represents an age where young people are at risk for the development of social anxiety. Increasingly, research has highlighted an increased risk of social anxiety in girls with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, there remains a lack of understanding of their experiences and the extent to which they are consistent with current models of anxiety in ASD. This qualitative study aimed to develop an understanding of the experience of social anxiety in adolescent girls with ASD from the perspective of young people themselves, their parents and teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four triads, with girls interviewed using an ‘ideal classroom’ activity to explore their perception of school-based social situations. Four interrelated themes emerged from the data across all four triads including (1) barriers to social situations, (2) quality of relationships, (3) coping with social situations, and (4) desire to ‘fit in’. The results found that girls’ experiences were underpinned by factors present in typical pathways to social anxiety (e.g. negative peer experiences and poor social skills) and that girls’ sensory sensitivity to noise acted as an autism-specific pathway. Implications for professionals who work with adolescent girls diagnosed with ASD were discussed, including the delivery of targeted training and workshops to increase staff understanding and raise peer acceptance.

Theoretical frameworks suggest that increased anxiety symptoms are associated with a cognitive interpretation bias; anxious individuals are more likely to interpret ambiguous information as threatening and dangerous. Several models have considered the role of parents and parenting in the aetiology of cognitive biases that place children at increased risk for the development of anxiety. For example, parenting characterised by overprotection/emotional overinvolvement and over control has been associated with anxiety disorders in children. The present research explored the association between parent and child anxiety, interpretation biases and parent-child relationships within military families, a population at greater risk of experiencing enduring anxiety. Twenty children aged 8-11 years and their mothers reported their anxiety symptoms and completed a homophone task. Words could be interpreted as either threatening or non-threatening and were categorised into separation and general threat themes. Parents also completed the Five Minute Speech Sample, where they expressed thoughts and feelings about their child. Results revealed that parent and child anxiety was significantly positively correlated as expected. Children’s anxious cognitions were significantly positively correlated to self-reported and maternal anxiety (ps < .05). In contrast to the expected hypothesis, children and parent interpretation biases were not significantly correlated. Although the research set out to examine the extent to which interpretation biases could act as a mediator between parenting and child anxiety, evidence for a mediated pathway could not be established within the present research. The impact of these findings are discussed with particular reference to the importance of understanding the aetiology of anxiety and exploring the role of the intergenerational transmission of anxiety.