Precursors and Correlates of Anxiety Trajectories From Late Childhood to Late Adolescence

Abstract

The present research employed a prospective, multi-informant design to examine precursors and correlates of differing anxiety profiles from late childhood to late adolescence. The sample consisted of 626 boys and 667 girls who are participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a large, longitudinal, community-based study that has followed young people's psychosocial adjustment from infancy to adulthood. The present research analyzes data collected from the first 12 waves of data, from 4–8 months to 17 years. Parents, primary school teachers, maternal and child health nurses, and from the age of 11 onward, the young people themselves have provided survey data. Trajectory analyses revealed three distinct patterns of self-reported anxiety from late childhood to late adolescence, comprising low, moderate, and high (increasing) trajectories, which differed somewhat between boys and girls. A range of parent- and teacher-reported factors was found to be associated with these trajectories, including temperament style, behavior problems, social skills, parenting, negative family events, and peer relationships. Compared with male trajectories, female trajectories were associated with a greater variety of psychosocial variables (including parenting and externalizing problems), which may partially account for the higher prevalence of anxiety in adolescent girls compared with boys. Findings shed light on gender-specific pathways to anxiety and the need for comprehensive, integrative approaches to intervention and prevention programs.

Acknowledgments

This study is part of the longitudinal research project, the Australian Temperament Project, managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, and the Australian Institute of Family Studies; further information is available at http://www.aifs.com.au/atp. This article is based in part on Primrose Letcher's PhD thesis, conducted under the supervision of Ann Sanson. The study was supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council from 1998 to 2000. An earlier version of this article was presented as part of a symposium on “Young People's Development and Wellbeing: Insights From the Australian Temperament Project” at Families Matter, the 9th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, 9–11 February 2005. We sincerely thank the participants for their loyal support of the study. We also gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the other collaborating investigators to the study, Margot Prior and Frank Oberklaid, and in particular express gratitude to Margot Prior for her helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and may not reflect those of the organizations supporting this research—the University of Melbourne, the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and the Australian Government.

Notes

Note: P = parent; ATP = Australian Temperament Project; MCH = maternal and child health nurse; T = elementary school teacher; BP = Behavior Problems; CBQ = Child Behavior Questionnaire.

Note: Data for females are not presented because the overall multivariate analysis of variance was not significant. Shyness and chronic illness at 3 years; inflexibility, aggression, hyperactivity at 3, 5, and 7 years; general health problems, functional impairment, parent–child relationship difficulties at 5 and 7 years; and total stressful life events and socioeconomic status at 5 years were not significant for male individuals. Exact p values to three decimal places are reported. Mod = moderate.

Note: Parent-reported functional impairment and SES were not significant. Teacher-reported aggression, hyperactivity and social skills were not significant. Exact p values to three decimal places are reported. Mod = moderate; F = female; M = male.

Note: Parental power assertion, parental physical punishment, parental inductive reasoning, stressful life events, and school problems at 13 years, and parental harsh discipline, parental inductive reasoning, school problems, and socioeconomic status at 15 years were not significant. Exact p-values to three decimal places are reported. Mod = moderate; F = female; M = male.

Note: Parental warmth, involvement, positive sibling relationship, family cohesion, financial strain, socioeconomic status, and school problems were not significant. Exact p values to three decimal places are reported. Mod = moderate; F = female; M = male.