Citation

Fjermestad KW, Lium C, Heiervang ER, Havik OE, Mowatt Haugland BS, Bjelland I, Henningsen Wergeland GJ. Scand. J. Child Adolesc. Psychiatr. Psychol. 2020; 8: 18-24.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand, Publisher Exeley)

DOI

10.21307/sjcapp-2020-003

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the relationship between parental internalizing symptoms and children's anxiety symptoms in a clinical sample of children with anxiety disorders.

Method:

The sample was recruited through community mental health clinics for a randomized controlled anxiety treatment trial. At pre-intervention, children (n = 182), mothers (n = 165), and fathers (n = 72) reported children's anxiety symptoms. Mothers and fathers also reported their own internalizing symptoms. The children were aged 8 to 15 years (Mage = 11.5 years, SD = 2.1, 52.2% girls) and all had a diagnosis of separation anxiety, social phobia, and/or generalized anxiety disorder. We examined parental internalizing symptoms as predictors of child anxiety symptoms in multiple regression models.

Results:

Both mother and father rated internalizing symptoms predicted children's self-rated anxiety levels (adj. R2 = 22.0%). Mother-rated internalizing symptoms predicted mother-rated anxiety symptoms in children (adj. R2 = 7.0%). Father-rated internalizing symptoms did not predict father-rated anxiety in children.

Conclusions:

Clinicians should incorporate parental level of internalizing symptoms in their case conceptualizations.

Language: en