ATTENTION BIAS AND SELF-REPORT MEASURES AS INDICATORS OF COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE CHANGE IN ADOLESCENTS PARTICIPATING IN SCHOOL-BASED SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOTCAMPS

Abstract

This study evaluated whether a low-burden, webcam-based eye-tracking platform can complement standard questionnaires when monitoring mental health of adolescents participating in school-based social entrepreneurship bootcamps. Using the Anima platform, high school students completed 691 anonymized sessions across five assessment waves, which combined standardized self-report measures of anxiety and depression with webcam-based eye-tracking indices of attention bias (AB). Across waves, self-report data indicated reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms. AB indices stayed below the severe cutoffs and showed no systematic change. First-wave AB distributions are reported as a provisional reference point for adolescent performance in this context. The study highlights Anima’s value as a low-burden, scalable tool for mental health monitoring.