Child Perceived Parenting Behavior: Childhood Anxiety and Related Symptoms

Abstract

Youth ages 7–14 (N = 175; 52.6% male) and parents were evaluated. Father's and mother's acceptance, psychological control, and firm/behavioral control were measured. Children were diagnosed, and self-, parent-, and teacher-reports were gathered. Children with anxiety disorders perceived higher parental control than children without. Regressions found child-reported maternal acceptance was associated with lower child anxiety, depression, and externalizing, whereas psychological control predicted higher symptoms. Child-reported depressive symptoms moderated the maternal psychological control and children's anxiety relationship (the relationship was weaker for anxious children with more depressive symptoms). Findings support that children's perception of parenting behavior is associated with anxiety.

KEYWORDS:

• anxiety
• children
• depression
• externalizing behavior
• parenting behavior

Notes

Note. CRPBI = Children's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory; AC_M or F = acceptance of mother or father; PC_M or F = psychological control of mother or father; FC_M or F = firm control of mother or father; RCMAS = Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale; SPAI-C = Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children; CDI = Children's Depression Inventory; CBCL, M_INT = Child Behavior Checklist internalizing behavior, mother; CBCL, M_EXT = Child Behavior Checklist externalizing behavior, mother; CBCL, F_INT = Child Behavior Checklist internalizing behavior, father; CBCL, F_EXT = Child Behavior Checklist externalizing behavior, father; TRF, INT = Teacher Report Form internalizing behavior; TRF, EXT = Teacher Report Form externalizing behavior.

*p < .05, two-tailed.

**p < .01, two-tailed.

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses. CRPBI = Children's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory; AC_M = mother's acceptance; PC_M = mother's psychological control; FC_M = mother's firm control; AC_F = father's acceptance; PC_F = father's psychological control; FC_F = father's firm control; NAD = children without any anxiety disorders; AD = children with a primary anxiety disorder.

⁺ t(175) = − 2.35, p < .05, d = .44.

⁺⁺ t(170) = − 2.86, p < .05, d = .50.

⁺⁺⁺ t(170) = − 3.01, p < .05, d = .52.

*p < .05, two-tailed.

**p < .01, two-tailed.

Note. RCMAS = Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale; SPAI-C = Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children; CDI = Children's Depression Inventory; CBCL, M_EXT = Child Behavior Checklist externalizing behavior, mother; AC_M = acceptance of mother; PC_M = psychological control of mother; FC_M = firm control of mother.

⁺ R ²  = .04, F(3,170) = 2.30 for Step 1 (p = .08); Δ R ²  = .08, Δ F(3,167) = 5.01 for Step 2 (p < .001).

⁺⁺ R ²  = .09, F(3,170) = .45 for Step 1 (p = .72); Δ R ²  = .06, Δ F(3,167) = 3.80 for Step 2 (p < .05).

⁺⁺⁺ R ²  = .02, F(3,170) = 1.31 for Step 1 (p = .28); Δ R ²  = .09, Δ F(3,167) = 5.43 for Step 2 (p < .05).

⁺⁺⁺⁺ R ²  = .02, F(3,170) = 1.42 for Step 1 (p = .24); Δ R ²  = .09, Δ F(3,167) = 6.73 for Step 2 (p < .001).

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

Note. RCMAS = Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale; SPAI-C = Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children; CBCL, M_EXT = Child Behavior Checklist externalizing behavior, mother; AC_M = acceptance of mother; PC_M = psychological control of mother.

⁺ R ²  = .04, F(3,170) = 2.30 for Step 1 (p = .08); Δ R ²  = .42, Δ F(3,167) = 42.72 for Step 2 (p < .001); Δ R ²  = .08; Δ F(2,165) = 13.59 for Step 3 (p < .001).

⁺⁺ R ²  = .01, F(3,170) = .45 for Step 1 (p = .72); Δ R ²  = .33, Δ F(2,168) = 41.15 for Step 2 (p < .001); Δ R ²  = .05, Δ F(1,167) = 13.19 for Step 3 (p < .001).

⁺⁺⁺ R ²  = .02, F(3,170) = 1.42 for Step 1 (p = .24); Δ R ²  = .16, Δ F(3,167) = 10.69 for Step 2 (p < .001); Δ R ²  = .003, Δ F(2,165) = .30 for Step 3 (p = .74).

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.