Self-reported and performance-based measures of attentional control as predictors of psychotherapy treatment outcomes

The executive ability to selectively orient attention towards relevant information while simultaneous orienting attention away from distractions is referred to as attentional control (Shipstead et al., 2014). Deficits in attentional control is a transdiagnostic feature of mental illness (McTeague et al., 2016) that is associated with more severe symptomatology (Dibben et al., 2009; Shi et al., 2019; Snyder, 2013) and worse psychosocial functioning (e.g., Adler et al., 2006; Gupta et al., 2013; Kochanska & Knaack, 2003; Wang et al., 2004). Yet, the role of attentional control is psychotherapy treatment outcomes remains poorly understood. Such knowledge has the potential to improve both psychotherapy implementation efforts as well as treatment outcomes by identifying patients who may benefit from augmented treatments that targets attentional deficits (e.g., cognitive remediation therapy; Bowie, 2019) prior to traditional psychotherapy.