Parental internalizing symptoms as predictors of anxiety symptoms in clinic-referred children
Abstract
Background:
Mothers’ and fathers’ internalizing symptoms may influence children’s anxiety symptoms differently.
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.
© 2020 Krister Westlye Fjermestad, Christina Lium, Einar R. Heiervang, Odd E. Havik, Bente Storm Mowatt Haugland, Ingvar Bjelland, Gro Janne Henningsen Wergeland, published by Psychiatric Research Unit
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.