Anxiogenic Patterns in Mother-Child Interactions |
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| Authors: | Kyle W. Harvison L. Kevin Chapman Natalie G. Ballash |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychiatry , Indiana University School of Medicine , Indianapolis, IN;2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences , University of Louisville , KY;3. Vanderbilt Community Mental Health Center , Nashville, TN |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT The current study examined psychosocial variables associated with the development of anxiety in children. While previous literature has established parental affectionless control as an important contributor to the development of anxiety in children, few have examined this construct within the dynamic context of parent-child interaction. In the current study, the affect and behavior of anxious mothers and their children (ages 6 to 12 years) were examined during two mildly stressful tasks, with a total of 64 mother-child dyads participating in the study. Analyses supported the hypothesis that maternal affectionless control mediates the relationship between child anxiety and child disengagement/withdrawal from difficult tasks. Results are discussed in terms of implications for psychosocial mechanisms of the familial transmission of anxiety. |
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| Keywords: | Anxiety disorders anxiety developmental psychopathology parent and child relations psychosocial factors |
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