BACKGROUND: Identification of reliable targets for therapeutic interventions is essential for developing evidence-based therapies. Threat-related attention bias has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of @entity148 . Extant response-time-based threat bias measures have demonstrated limited reliability and internal consistency. Here, we examined gaze patterns of socially anxious and nonanxious @entity1 in relation to social threatening and neutral stimuli using an eye-tracking task, comprised of multiple threat and neutral stimuli, presented for an extended time-period. We tested the psychometric properties of this task with the hope to provide a solid stepping-stone for future treatment development. METHODS: Eye gaze was tracked while @entity1 freely viewed 60 different matrices comprised of eight disgusted and eight neutral facial expressions, presented for 6000ms each. Gaze patterns on threat and neutral areas of interest (AOIs) of @entity1 with @entity4696 , high socially anxious students and nonanxious students were compared. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were evaluated. RESULTS: @entity1 did not differ on first-fixation variables. However, overall, socially anxious students and @entity1 with @entity4696 dwelled significantly longer on threat faces compared with nonanxious @entity1 , with no difference between the anxious groups. Groups did not differ in overall dwell time on neutral faces. Internal consistency of total dwell time on threat and neutral AOIs was high and one-week test-retest reliability was acceptable. LIMITATIONS: Only disgusted facial expressions were used. Relative small sample size. CONCLUSION: @entity148 is associated with increased dwell time on socially threatening stimuli, presenting a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

XXXX is related to increased dwell time on socially threatening faces.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['participants', 'Participants'] @entity4696 :: ('MESH:D003865', 'Disease') :: ['SAD'] @entity148 :: ('MESH:D001008', 'Disease') :: ['social anxiety disorder', 'Social anxiety']
@entity148 :: (MESH:D001008,Disease) :: ['Social anxiety']
