Abstract:

The current update meta-analysis focused on the effect sizes of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) for anxiety disorder, and explored the potential moderators by subgroup analysis and hierarchical meta-regression. To understand the mechanism of CBM, mediation analysis by two-stage structural equation method (TSSEM) integrating meta-analysis and structural equation method is applied. The results demonstrate that (1) CBM may have small effects on anxiety symptom reduction at the risk of publication bias; however, CBM can modify cognitive bias better with a medium effect size. (2) The type of intervention, training environment, publication year and impact factor moderate the effect size of CBM on post-training anxiety. Training environment and the type of anxiety disorder are moderators of the effect size on cognitive bias. (3) Cognitive bias is the partial mediator by which CBM may have an influence on anxiety symptom.

Key words: Cognitive bias modification, anxiety disorder, Meta-analysis, mediation