<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec><h3>Background:</h3><p>Mothers’ and fathers’ internalizing symptoms may influence children’s anxiety symptoms differently.</p></sec><sec><h3>Objective:</h3><p>To explore the relationship between parental internalizing symptoms and children’s anxiety symptoms in a clinical sample of children with anxiety disorders.</p></sec><sec><h3>Method:</h3><p>The sample was recruited through community mental health clinics for a randomized controlled anxiety treatment trial. At pre-intervention, children (<italic>n</italic> = 182), mothers (<italic>n</italic> = 165), and fathers (<italic>n</italic> = 72) reported children’s anxiety symptoms. Mothers and fathers also reported their own internalizing symptoms. The children were aged 8 to 15 years (<italic>M</italic><sub>age</sub> = 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.</p></sec><sec><h3>Results:</h3><p>Both mother and father rated internalizing symptoms predicted children’s self-rated anxiety levels (adj. <italic>R</italic><sup>2</sup> = 22.0%). Mother-rated internalizing symptoms predicted mother-rated anxiety symptoms in children (adj. <italic>R</italic><sup>2</sup> = 7.0%). Father-rated internalizing symptoms did not predict father-rated anxiety in children.</p></sec><sec><h3>Conclusions:</h3><p>Clinicians should incorporate parental level of internalizing symptoms in their case conceptualizations.</p></sec></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.

Parental internalizing symptoms as predictors of anxiety symptoms in clinic-referred children

Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Background:Mothers’ and fathers’ internalizing symptoms may influence children’s anxiety symptoms differently.Objective:To explore the relationship between...

Parental internalizing symptoms as predictors of anxiety symptoms in clinic-referred children

Article Category: research-article

Published Online: Mar 18, 2020

Page range: 18 - 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2020-003

Keywords
children, adolescents, parents, anxiety, anxiety disorders

© 2020 Krister Westlye Fjermestad et al., published by sciendo.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Parental internalizing symptoms as predictors of anxiety symptoms in clinic-referred children

Article Category: research-article

Published Online: Mar 18, 2020

Page range: 18 - 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/sjcapp-2020-003

Keywordschildren, adolescents, parents, anxiety, anxiety disorders

© 2020 Krister Westlye Fjermestad et al., published by sciendo.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
children, adolescents, parents, anxiety, anxiety disorders