Socially Anxious Children: An Observational Study of Parent-Child Interaction

ABSTRACT

Differences in the rate and quality of parent-child communication in parents of socially anxious and normal children 9–12-years- old were examined. Socially anxious and control children were videotaped with their parents completing a puzzle task under three conditions, mother with child, father with child, and mother and father with child. Videotapes were coded for six types of verbalizations. Group differences were found in parents for frequency of total verbalizations, as well as frequency of types of verbalizations, with parents of anxious children using fewer total verbalizations, less positive feedback, and more negative feedback than control group parents. No difference was observed in the three observation conditions. Like their parents, socially anxious children engaged in fewer total verbalizations, and used more negative feedback and less positive feedback than control group children. Sequential analyses revealed that parents and children in the control group displayed similar patterns of communication in that they showed a strong tendency to mirror the quality of the other's verbalizations. Socially anxious children, like the control group children, tended to mirror the verbalizations of their parents. In contrast, parents of socially anxious children did not show the same similarities in responsiveness. Implications of the findings are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Anxiety
• internalizing disorders
• parent-child interaction