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Previous research has identified an association between attachment orientations and depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, the majority of this work is correlational and we do not know if there is a causal relationship between having an insecure attachment style and affective disorders or vice versa. The first aim of this research was to fill this gap and review the literature that addresses the role of primed attachment security on depression and anxiety in a clinical sample. Twenty-four empirical studies met inclusion criteria. Although limited, evidence is emerging that supports the benefits of secure priming for improving affective disorders. However, limitations of existing literature including sample characteristics, type of priming method and the variability of outcome measures make generalisation of findings difficult. The second aim of this research was to expand the existing knowledge-base by testing the effectiveness of secure attachment priming on a clinical sample of patients diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Fifty-two participants engaged in secure attachment priming or neutral priming in the laboratory (Time 1), after which they received three daily consecutive primes according to their experimental condition (Times 2-4), aimed at maintaining the effects from Time 1 priming. A follow-up one day later (Time 5) was also included. Participants in the secure priming condition experienced higher felt-security following the initial prime and at all time-points than the control group, indicating that the felt security benefit was maintained across a number of days through repeated priming. Secure priming also had a beneficial impact on reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression in comparison to the control prime though the differences between the groups were only significant at Time 4. This experiment was the first to use repeated security priming with a clinical sample and findings contribute towards the understanding of attachment processes and affective disorders.

This thesis explores the experiences of typically developing siblings (TD-Sibs) who have grown up with a brother or sister with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). The first chapter presents a systematic review of the literature, using an Interactive Factors Framework (IFF) approach (a framework that is used to guide Educational Psychology practice), to consider TD-Sibs’ experiences from a holistic perspective. A total of 22 studies were identified from the systematic search process. The review highlights many inconsistencies in findings, and methodological limitations. Within the sampled research, the quantitative studies tended to focus on potential behavioural, social and emotional difficulties for TD-Sibs, however, there is currently insufficient, consistent evidence to conclude that TD-Sibs, as a group, will experience difficulties in these areas. Through eliciting sibling voice directly, qualitative studies revealed positive aspects for TDSibs, as well as, previously unconsidered challenges. The review identifies gaps in the research base and concludes with an IFF diagram to visually represent and synthesise the positive and challenging experiences from the 22 studies as a whole. The empirical paper explores the views of young adult siblings, who have grown up with a brother or sister with ASC, to gain a greater understanding of their lived experience and how this may interact with their education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants (aged 19 to 21), and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Five super-ordinate themes were identified: Striving to do well; Sense of responsibility; Self-Management; Voice and Acceptance. These exploratory findings identified some positive aspects of being a TD-Sib, however participants predominantly recounted a number of struggles and hidden challenges, which influenced some aspects of their educational experiences. Practical implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Many theories addressing the complex anxiety-cognition interaction are built upon the notion that working memory is vulnerable to the effects of anxiety. However, most research has utilised studies of trait anxiety which does not allow direct inferences to be made between affect and cognitive performance, or exclude confounds such as pre-existing individual differences. As a result, a systematic review was undertaken to explore the neuropsychological consequences of experimentally-induced state anxiety on working memory. Twenty eight studies were included in the review grouped according to the nature of anxiety induced (anxious-apprehensionor anxious-arousal) and by working memory component (verbal, visuospatial, or executive). This review found evidence of anxiety adversely affecting working memory and support for specific theories. The review highlighted the potential impact of anxiety on neuropsychological assessments in clinical settings, as well as the need to test these theories using prolonged anxiety-induction procedures with standardised measures of anxiety and working memory. The empirical paper explored the effects of experimentally-induced anxiety on clinical neuropsychological assessments of working memory. Anxiety was induced using the inhalation of carbon dioxide (CO2), which reliably elicits prolonged states of anxiety. Thirty participants were included in the study, undertaking neuropsychological tests during the inhalation of both normal air and CO2 across two testing sessions using a counterbalanced design. The mood manipulation was successful and verified using psychological and physiological measures. Results suggested that anxiety negatively affected spatial and verbal working memory, although low load verbal tasks were unaffected. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed with regards to the effect of state anxiety on clinical neuropsychological assessments and the management of anxiety in light of these cognitive deficits. Future research should include a broader spectrum of working memory tasks of varying cognitive load to further elucidate how anxiety may interact with cognition.

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Previous research on gaming addiction and Internet addiction (IA) has relied on inconsistent definitions and theoretical frameworks to define these constructs, and has negatively impacted on their assessment. However, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) included 'Internet Gaming Disorder' (IGD) as a tentative disorder in need of further investigation in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Following this preliminary recognition of gaming addiction as potential disorder, unification and standardisation in the field in terms of assessment became possible given that the DSM-5 provided a set of official criteria defining IGD that could be implemented in future research. The research in this thesis substantially contributes to knowledge by (i) systematically reviewing the inconsistencies in the psychometric assessment of IGD and IA, (ii) developing a new potentially unifying standardised psychometric assessment framework for both disorders, and (iii) identifying potential risk factors for IGD and IA. A cross-sectional design was employed across all empirical studies (Study 1, N = 1,003; Study 2, N = 1,060; Study 3, N = 1,105; Study 4, N = 1,100), and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling (i.e., measurement model and latent profile analysis), alongside traditional bivariate statistical modelling. The results indicated that, at a theoretical level, the use of inconsistent assessment tools to investigate IGD and IA has hindered progress in the field. At an empirical level, the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test) and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) were developed to assess IGD, and the Internet Disorder Scale (IDS-15) and the Internet Disorder Scale–Short Form (IDS9-SF) were developed to assess IA based on the IGD conceptualisation provided by the APA in the DSM-5. Overall, the research in this thesis confirms the usefulness of the utilisation of the IGD framework and the psychometric tools developed as a potential avenue to overcome the shortcomings related to previous heterogeneity issues in the assessment of both IGD and IA.