Anxious children and their parents: What do they expect?

Cobham, V. E., Dadds, M. R. and Spence, S. H. (1999) Anxious children and their parents: What do they expect?. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28 2: 220-231.

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: School of Psychology Publications

Author(s) Cobham, V. E.
Dadds, M. R.
Spence, S. H.
Title Anxious children and their parents: What do they expect?
Journal name Journal of Clinical Child Psychology
Publication date 1999
Sub-type Article
Volume number 28
Issue number 2
ISSN 0047 228X
Start page 220
End page 231
Total pages 12
Place of publication Mahwah, NJ
Publisher Lawrence Erlbaum
Collection year 1999
Subject C1
380107 Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology
730211 Mental health
Abstract Assigned 73 children, ages 7 to 14, to 1 of 3 groups (anxious, clinical control, and nonclinical control) according to their diagnostic status. Within the anxious group, children were assigned to 1 of 2 further groups on the basis of self-reported parental anxiety-either the child anxiety only group or the child + parent anxiety group. All children completed an experimental task (giving a brief talk in front of a video camera), which was the focus for a series of structured family discussions between the child and his or her parents. The aims of the study were to measure and compare across groups (a) the evaluations of children and their parents regarding the child's predicted anxiety and skill level and (b) the effect of the family discussion on children's expectations. Results indicated that, prior to the family discussion, anxious children's expectations of their future performance did not differ from those of control children. Similarly, there were no differences in children's expectations between the child anxiety group and the child + parent anxiety group. Second, compared to mothers in the child anxiety group, mothers in the child + parent anxiety group expected that their children would be more anxious and more likely to choose an avoidant problem solution (but not less skilled). Finally, the family discussion was found to produce no changes in anxious children's expectations of their future performance. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Keyword(s) Psychology, Clinical
Psychology, Developmental
Childhood Anxiety Disorders
Structured Interview
Reliability
Competent
Schedule
Dyads
Fear
 
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