Youth stress generation: an examination of the role of anxiety, anxiety symptoms and cognitive distortions

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Stress generation suggests a reciprocal relationship between depression and prospective stressful life events. However, the applicability of stress generation to anxiety disorders has been understudied, particularly among youth. We address this gap by examining stress generation in youth at high-risk of developing anxiety disorders.

Methods

Participants were one-hundred thirty-six at-risk youth (M age = 8.69, 84.6% Caucasian; 55.9% female), each of whom had a parent with an anxiety disorder. We examined the role of an anxiety disorder diagnosis, anxiety symptoms, and cognitive distortions in youth’s prospective one and six-year stressful life events (i.e., stress generation).

Results

Anxiety symptoms and cognitive distortions were significant predictors of one-year total dependent stress. Anxiety diagnosis and anxiety symptoms were significant predictors of one-year dependent interpersonal stress. Anxiety diagnosis and anxiety symptoms were significant predictors of six-year independent stress.

Conclusion

Support for the stress generation model was found in high-risk youth, but only over a one-year period. This suggests important effects of anxiety and cognitive distortions on stress generation, though their implications might be time-capped.

KEYWORDS:

• Stress generation
• anxiety
• cognitive distortions
• cognitive vulnerability
• youth

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Information about Data sharing

Data is available upon request to the corresponding author.

Location of work

Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut West Hartford, CT and the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Role of the sponsor

The funding source had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript, and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by two grants from National Institute of Mental Health (Grant # MH077312 and Grant MH103799) awarded to Golda S. Ginsburg.