Experiential and Affective Correlates of Math Anxiety in Adult Women

Mathematics anxiety has been discussed as one of the factors contributing to poor mathematics performance, especially among women. Although many programs have been developed for its treatment, little research has been conducted concerning its correlates. The present study examines correlates of mathematics anxiety among the 69 female participants in a program designed to help individuals overcome their fears and become more competent in mathematics. Results indicate the following: (a) that mathematics anxiety in program participants is highly correlated with other academically relevant anxiety scales, (b) that test anxiety and self-estimated mathematics ability are the most important variables in the prediction of mathematics anxiety, and (c) that mathematics anxiety and high school mathematics preparation are the most important variables in the prediction of arithmetic performance.     

The ABCs of CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy): Evidence‐Based Approaches to Child Anxiety in Public School Settings

This study evaluated a locally developed cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) intervention program in a public elementary school. In the prevention approach, 118 children were randomly assigned either to an 8‐week intervention or to a waitlist control. Results of statistical analysis indicated that the manualized CBT intervention did not reduce symptoms of anxiety on either self‐reports or parent reports of anxiety symptoms in the general school population. Challenges to translational efforts to public school settings are discussed.     

Little Children with Big Worries: Addressing the Needs of Young,Anxious Children and the Problem of Parent Engagement

Anxiety disorders in preschool-age children represent an important clinical problem due to high prevalence, substantial impairment, persistence, and associated risk for later emotional problems. Early intervention may mitigate these problems by capitalizing on a strategic developmental period. Elevated neuroplasticity, availability of screening tools, and the potential to modify parenting practices position anxiety as a good candidate for early intervention and preventive efforts. While some novel interventions show promise, the broad success of such programs will largely depend on parent engagement. Since parents are less likely to identify and seek help for anxiety problems compared to other childhood behavior problems, especially in a preventive manner, methods for understanding parents’ decisions to participate and enhancing levels of engagement are central to the success of early childhood anxiety prevention and intervention. Understanding these processes is particularly important for families characterized by sociodemographic adversity, which have been underrepresented in anxiety treatment research. This review summarizes the developmental phenomenology of early emerging anxiety symptoms, the rationale for early intervention, and the current state of research on interventions for young, anxious children. The roles of parent engagement and help-seeking processes are emphasized, especially among economically disadvantaged and ethnic minority communities who are acutely at risk. Evidence-based strategies to enhance parent engagement to facilitate the development and dissemination of efficacious programs are offered.     

Allergies and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Literature

  There is an increasing prevalence of anxiety disorders and allergic conditions in children and adolescents, with previous research showing that these illnesses are often comorbid. Knowledge of the association between anxiety and allergies in children and adolescents is important because these comorbid disorders may negatively impact functioning and development. This research is necessary for identification of at risk children and to develop intervention and prevention programs. A review of studies examining comorbid anxiety and allergies in children and adolescents demonstrated a consistent association between these disorders despite differences in methodology. Several methodological limitations are presented, followed by a discussion of theories which may explain the association between these conditions. Implications of this work and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Reducing Test Anxiety in School Settings: A Controlled Pilot Study Examining a Group Format Delivery of the Attention Training Technique Among Adolescent Students

Researchers have called for the examination of test anxiety interventions that extend beyond the delivery of individual services by a trained professional. Following from conceptual models and research findings underscoring the importance of metacognitive beliefs to test anxiety, a controlled pilot study examined whether a group format delivery of the attention training technique (ATT) component of metacognitive therapy reduces test anxiety among eighth-grade students. Students completed baseline study measures and were allocated based upon class period to five sessions of ATT (n = 39) or a music listening control (n = 34) delivered within a group format during a school week. Students completed postintervention study measures on the final day of the intervention and completed follow-up study measures approximately 3 weeks following the intervention. As predicted, students receiving ATT reported less postintervention test anxiety than the control when they held stronger baseline metacognitive beliefs about worry. The patterns of findings held at the follow-up and when specifically examining the cognitive (i.e., worry) dimension of test anxiety. Study results suggest that ATT may be a viable test anxiety intervention for students holding heightened metacognitive beliefs about worry. Future directions are discussed.     

Comorbidity of test anxiety and other anxiety disorders in children

Elementary school children with clinically significant test anxiety, as determined by self-report and a clinical interview, were assessed for the incidence of other fears and anxiety. The results indicated that test-anxious children reported more fears and general worries than their non-test-anxious peers. As expected, the test-anxious children experienced more negative cognitions and subjective distress when taking a test. Furthermore, the fear of negative evaluation was not limited to an actual test, since these children also reported identical symptoms when engaged in a second social-evaluative task. Finally, 60% of the testanxious sample met DSM-III criteria for an anxiety disorder. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship of text anxiety to more complex social-evaluative dysfunctions, more pervasive anxiety conditions, DSM-III anxiety disorders, and the utility of test anxiety as an indicator of the presence of these more pervasive anxiety states.This research is based on a dissertation conducted by the first author under the direction of the second author. Thanks are expressed to Stephen B. Manuck, Scott M. Monroe, Sharon Nelson-LeGall, and Saul Shiffman, who served as committee members. This study was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grants No. 30915 and No. 16804, and a grant to the first author from the Sigma Xi Foundation.     

School-based prevention of anxiety using the “My FRIENDS” emotional resilience program: Six-month follow-up

Anxiety-related problems are common in childhood and adolescence and, if left untreated, may hold short-term and long-term negative consequences for psychosocial functioning and other domains. In addition to having negative individual-level consequences, anxiety-related problems may have a negative impact at the school level. Because almost all children and adolescents attend school, school plays a significant role in development as a socialisation agent and provides an ideal venue for the delivery of prevention and intervention programs. Here, we present the first evidence regarding the effectiveness of the My FRIENDS emotional resilience program as a method of reducing anxiety among students in Slovenia and the feasibility of implementing the program at the national level. Grade 8 students (N = 78) were assigned either the intervention condition, the My FRIENDS program, or a no-treatment control condition. We measured general anxiety and its components using the AN-UD (Lestvica anksioznosti za učence in dijake) anxiety scale and internalising difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at preintervention, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up assessments. Students in the intervention condition reported lower amounts of general anxiety and its cognitive component of worrying, and fewer internalising difficulties at the postintervention and follow-up assessments.     

Separation anxiety and the inhibition of aggression in preschool children

The anxiety, aggression, and affiliation responses of 10 high- and 10 low-separation-anxious 3-year-old children were observed under a control and a frustrating condition to test the hypothesis that separation anxiety is associated with the inhibition of aggression. High-separation-anxious Ss manifested significantly less (p < .01) increased aggression to frustration than did low-separation-anxious Ss; there were no group differences in state anxiety arousal or affiliation responses. The results were discussed in terms of the concept of anxiety as a drive having both cue and response-enhancing functions.This study was funded by a college research grant from the New York State College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. Special thanks are due to James Cox, Lisa Fremont, and Sharon McNulty for their help in carrying out this study and to the staffs and children of the Ithaca preschool programs who made this research possible.     

Child Sleep Problems and Parental Depression: Testing a Risk and Resistance Model

Although extensive studies demonstrate a link between infant sleep problems and parental depression, limited research explores this relation in parents of primary school aged children. Using cross-sectional data, we investigated direct, moderating and mediating risk and resistance factors in the relation between child sleep problems and parental depressive symptomatology in a sample of 145 Australian parents of primary school aged children. Parents completed the children’s sleep habits questionnaire, the short temperament scale for children, the perceived stress scale and the depression sub-scale of the depression, anxiety and stress–short form. Correlational analyses confirmed bivariate relations between parental stress and parental depressive symptomatology, and between child sleep problems and parental depressive symptomatology. Multiple regression analyses identified parental stress as a mediator of the relation between child sleep problems and parental depressive symptomatology, and the approach component of child temperament as a moderator of the relation between child sleep problems and parental depressive symptomatology. Findings suggest that parents of children with sleep problems experience increased stress levels and increased levels of depressive symptomatology and may be at increased risk of depression if their child has a difficult temperament characterized by low approachability. Implications for clinical intervention and future research are discussed.     

Child Personality as Moderator of Outcome in a School‐based Intervention for Preventing Externalising Behaviour

Studying moderators of intervention effects is essential to elucidate what works for whom. The present study investigated whether child personality moderates short‐term and follow‐up effects of an individualised preventive school‐based intervention for children with externalising behaviour. The sample consisted of 48 schools, with 264 fourth‐grade children displaying externalising behaviour (M_age = 10.2 years), randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 191) or no intervention control (n = 73) condition. Teachers and children reported at pretest, posttest and follow‐up test about reactive and proactive aggression. Child personality was assessed by teachers at pretest. Child conscientiousness moderated short‐term intervention effects, indicating that more organised and planful children benefited more from the intervention. Child extraversion moderated both short‐term and follow‐up intervention effects, with low extraverted children showing larger effects. These results affirm the importance of including personality as moderator of intervention effects in future studies, as interventions adapted to specific child traits might yield larger effects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Bullying in Middle School Youth

ABSTRACT

We examined middle school students' attitudes and perceptions of bullying during their middle school years. Participants were categorized along the bully/victim continuum as bullies, victims, bully-victims, and no-status students based on their self-nomination from a survey that queries students about their experiences with bullying (either as a bully, victim, or both), their observations of bullying, and their attitudes toward bullying. The majority of participants were classified as bullies, victims, and bully-victims as 70% of the participants reported involvement with bullying and/or victimization during their middle school years. Participants' perceptions about bullying and attitudes toward bullying were examined at three points in time. Participants' attitudes toward bullying became more supportive of bullying as students progressed through middle school. Additionally, external attributes for bullying were cited across all four status groups as reasons for involvement in bullying. Implications for prevention and intervention programs that address bullying are discussed.     

A Review of Existing Relational Aggression Programs: Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions

Research suggests that involvement in relational aggression is associated with serious adjustment problems, including concurrent and future social maladjustment (e.g., problematic friendships; rejection), internalizing problems (e.g., depressive symptoms), and school avoidance. Despite the burgeoning literature focusing on the harmful and damaging nature of relationally aggressive behavior, this research has only recently begun to be used to inform school-based prevention and intervention programming. This article reviews the developmental research related to relational aggression and presents a systematic examination of nine published school-based prevention and intervention programs to prevent relational aggression. Programs reviewed target preschool through eighth-grade students. Strengths and limitations of each program are discussed. Recommendations are offered for future research to develop and validate school-based programming for relational aggression, and implications for school psychologists are discussed.     

Test Anxiety: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

The present paper examines test anxiety from a cross-cultural perspective with specific reference to the Indian and American cultures. The construct of test anxiety has been examined in many cultures all over the world. In this review, the importance of understanding and incorporating contextual factors in cross-cultural research is emphasized. Moreover, some of the methodological issues related to investigating culture-behavior relationship are discussed. Specifically, the derived-etic approach for conducting cross-cultural research is espoused. Then, research findings from western, cross-cultural, and Indian studies on test anxiety are reviewed. Consistent with the individualistic orientation of the western society, much of the research in the western world has adopted a de-contextualized approach. Inasmuch as many of the cross-cultural and Indian studies on test anxiety have their roots in western research, they have ignored the cultural context as well. To address this void, contextual variables relevant to test anxiety in the Indian setting are examined and hypotheses regarding the nature of test anxiety in Indian children are proposed. Finally, a research agenda is presented to examine these hypotheses using a derived-etic approach.     

Effect of anxiety reduction on children's school performance and social adjustment

This study tested the effect of reductions in children's anxiety over time on improvements in school performance and social functioning in the context of participation in a cognitive-behavioral intervention program. Participants included 40 children with high anxiety (6-13 years of age). Independent evaluators, children, and parents rated child anxiety; parents rated school performance; and children and parents rated social functioning. Measures were completed at preintervention, midintervention, and postintervention. Fixed-effects regression analyses and random-effects regression analyses indicated that decreased anxiety was predictive of improved school performance and social functioning over the course of the intervention. These findings suggest that changes in anxiety influence trajectories of children's scholastic and social functioning.     

农村留守儿童焦虑情绪的异质性:基于潜在剖面分析

采用中学生心理健康诊断量表（MHT）对湖南省1292名留守儿童的焦虑情绪进行施测,并用潜在剖面分析方法探究留守儿童的焦虑情绪问题是否存在异质性,以及留守儿童相关的人口学因素对焦虑情绪异质性的作用机制。结果发现,留守儿童的焦虑情绪存在明显的异质性,可以分为三种潜在类别：“严重焦虑情绪型”、“中等程度焦虑情绪型”和“低焦虑情绪型”;留守男生、小学五年级、高中二年级、留守时间越长、留守初始年龄越小的留守儿童更容易焦虑情绪严重;无论是父亲外出、母亲外出还是双亲外出对留守儿童的焦虑情绪严重性的影响是一致的。由此,应根据留守儿童的性别、年级、留守时长和留守的初始年龄等情况特点,开展针对性的预防和干预措施,缓解留守儿童焦虑。     

SPECIAL SERIES: Intensive Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments for Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders

Cognitive-behavioral treatments are efficacious intervention choices for anxious youth, yet the lack of access to and usage of evidence-based treatments outside of a research context continues to challenge efforts to disseminate and implement such interventions. One potential avenue for reconciling effective care and that most readily accessed by children and their families may be to offer treatment in an intensive format, typically consisting of a more concentrated dose of cognitive-behavioral treatment components. This special series in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice aims to explore the evolution of intensive cognitive-behavioral treatments currently under investigation across a variety of child and adolescent anxiety disorder populations, including specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, school refusal, and panic disorder. In addition to delineating the research support to date for intensive cognitive-behavioral treatment among children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, the articles included in this series provide detail on the application of each intensive intervention, highlight innovative treatment elements, and explore clinical and systematic issues unique to an abbreviated treatment format.     

留守妇女与儿童焦虑的代际传递:有调节的中介效应

基于发展系统论和社会提供论构建的有调节的中介模型,对322名留守、323名非留守母子进行为期半年共两次的追踪测查,考察家庭（母亲心理控制）、学校（教师支持）和同伴（朋友支持）系统对焦虑代际传递的影响机制。结果发现：（1）心理控制对留守、非留守母子焦虑的代际传递均起部分中介作用;（2）留守母子焦虑代际传递的中介效应受教师支持的调节,随教师支持水平的提高,中介效应变得不再显著;（3）留守、非留守母子焦虑代际传递的直接效应受朋友支持的调节,随朋友支持水平的提高,直接效应变得不再显著。未来研究可聚焦于母亲、教师、同伴的视角打破留守母子焦虑的代际传递。     

What works in secondary schools? A systematic review of classroom-based body image programs

Governments, schools, and curriculum authorities are increasingly recognizing that body image during adolescence is a public health issue that warrants attention in the school setting. After 30 years of eating disorder prevention research, and given the current interest in this area, it seems timely to review the research on interventions to improve body image in schools. We reviewed universal-selective, classroom-based programs that have been conducted since the year 2000, among adolescents, and found 16 eligible intervention programs. Seven of these programs were effective in improving body image on at least one measure, from pre to post test, though effect sizes were small (d = 0.22–0.48). These effective programs were conducted among younger adolescents 12.33–13.62 years, and included activities focusing on media literacy, self esteem, and the influence of peers. Implications for school personnel and curriculum authorities are discussed, and we provide recommendations for a strategic approach to future research in this area.     

Parent-directed cognitive behavioral therapy for young anxious children: a pilot study

Anxiety in children age 8 years and above has been successfully treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, the efficacy of CBT for anxious children ages 4-7 years has not, to date, been fully investigated. This paper piloted a CBT intervention targeting child anxiety that was delivered exclusively to parents of 26 children with anxiety symptoms ages 4-7 years. The intervention consisted of four 2-hour group sessions of four to six parents (couples). These group sessions were followed by four individual telephone sessions, once per week across a 4-week period. The pre- and postintervention assessment involved measures of multiple constructs of child anxiety (anxiety symptoms, children's fears, behavioral inhibition, and internalizing symptoms) from multiple informants (parents, children, and teachers). Parents also reported parenting strategies they were likely to use to manage their children's anxiety pre- and postintervention. Results indicated a significant decrease in child anxiety and behavioral inhibition as reported by parents and teachers. Furthermore, mothers reported significant increases in their use of positive reinforcement, and modeling and reassurance, and a significant decrease in their use of reinforcement of dependency directly after treatment. Taken together, parent-directed CBT appears to be an effective approach for treating children ages 4-7 years with anxiety symptoms. Limitations of the current research are discussed.     

Facing Fears: The Feasibility of Anxiety Universal Prevention Efforts with Children and Adolescents

A few comprehensive reviews of the effectiveness of prevention programs of mental disorders in school-age children ((Greenberg et al., 2003) and (Weisz et al., 2005)) conclude that while several well-designed studies demonstrate the potential of preventive intervention, greater attention and ongoing rigorous research is critical. The benefits and difficulties of mounting prevention programming specifically targeting child anxiety, the most common of mental disorders, and the concomitant challenges for clinicians are presented here. Two examples of school-based prevention are described: one of a large-scale, primary prevention program specifically targeting child anxiety in public school children in a large Canadian province, and a specific case of an individual child that came to the attention of clinicians during the universal implementation.