Exploring Parental Predictors of Child Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Child Interpretation Bias

Abstract

Background: Separate lines of research have shown that higher levels of parental overcontrol and parental anxiety are related to higher levels of child anxiety. The mechanisms of transmission, however, are poorly understood.

Objective: It has been theorized, though not empirically tested, that parental overcontrol and anxiety increase children's interpretation bias by signaling to the child that the environment is threatening (e.g. through modeling or restriction of autonomy), thus increasing the child's anxiety level.

Methods: The present study investigated this theory using 75 parent-child dyads (parents aged 27-52, 82 % female; children aged 7-12, 52 % female, 80 % Caucasian). All parents were diagnosed with a primary anxiety disorder, while no child was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Results: Children's interpretation bias, measured using ambiguous stories, was shown to partially mediate the relation between parental overcontrol and child anxiety and completely mediate the relation between parental anxiety and child anxiety. There was no significant relation between parental overcontrol and parental anxiety.

Conclusions: Findings partially support theoretical models, which posit that higher levels of overcontrol and parental anxiety signal to children that their environment is threatening, perhaps increasing their threat appraisal of ambiguous situations and increasing their anxiety. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Anxiety; Child; Cognitions; Overcontrol; Parent; Parenting.

Fig. 1

Model of the mediating role of interpretation bias rating in the relation between parental overcontrol, parental anxiety and child anxiety, with appropriate standardized betas. c The total effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable, a is the effect of the independent variable on the mediator, b the effect of the mediator on the dependent variable while controlling for the independent variable, and c′ the direct effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable while controlling for the mediator. ^aFollows the mediation where parental anxiety is the independent variable and child anxiety is the dependent variable. ^bFollows the mediation where parental overcontrol is the independent variable and child anxiety is the dependent variable * p < .05