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Guo J, Guo S, Huang N, Fu M, Zhang B, Wang Y, Ma S, Wang X, Riem MME. Parental and Adolescents' Anxiety during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Rural China: The role of Parent-child Communication. JOURNAL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT TRAUMA 2024; 17:657-669. [PMID: 38938941 PMCID: PMC11199451 DOI: 10.1007/s40653-023-00609-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Purpose It has been suggested that the intergenerational transmission of anxiety may be an important contributor to the high prevalence of anxiety in adolescents. The objectives of this study are to examine whether and how parental anxiety is related to adolescent's anxiety and to explore the associations of parental anxiety and parent-child communication with adolescents' anxiety across different grades. Methods The current survey was conducted online from February 8th to February 27th, 2020.The questionnaires were distributed and retrieved through a web-based platform. A total of 6196 Chinese rural adolescents from grade seven to twelve (age ranging from 11 to 18 years old) were included. Results In this study, parental anxiety was significantly associated with higher adolescent anxiety (β = 0.14, p < 0.001) and this association was statically strongest at grade twelve. Besides, children with problematic parent-child communication related to COVID-19 reported elevated anxiety (β = 0.05, p < 0.01). In contrast, effective parent-child communication about COVID-19 mitigated the level of anxiety transmitted from parent to child (β = -0.04, p < 0.05). Conclusions During the COVID-19 epidemic, parents' anxiety was related to adolescents' anxiety. In addition, parent-child communication plays a moderating role in the above relationship. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing more psycho-education programs that specifically target parents' emotion regulation and effective communication abilities to ameliorate the psychopathological symptoms of parents and their children. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-023-00609-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Guo
- Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 China
| | - Sijia Guo
- Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 China
| | - Ning Huang
- Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 China
| | - Mingqi Fu
- School of Public Management, Central South University, Changsha, 410082 PR China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Department of Neurology and ICCTR Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Yiqing Wang
- Department of Public Administration, Beijing City University, Beijing, 100083 China
| | - Shuang Ma
- School of Management, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029 China
| | - Xiaohua Wang
- School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
| | - Madelon M. E. Riem
- Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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2
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Nimphy CA, Mitrou V, Elzinga BM, Van der Does W, Aktar E. The Role of Parental Verbal Threat Information in Children's Fear Acquisition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2024:10.1007/s10567-024-00485-4. [PMID: 38789695 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-024-00485-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Children can acquire fears of novel stimuli as a result of listening to parental verbal threat information about these stimuli (i.e., instructional learning). While empirical studies have shown that learning via parental information occurs, the effect size of parental verbal threat information on child fear of a novel stimulus has not yet been measured in a meta-analysis. We conducted a systematic review and meta analysis to assess the effect of parents' verbal statements on their children's fear acquisition. Additionally, we explored potential moderators of this effect, namely, parent and child anxiety levels, as well as child age. WebOfScience, Pubmed, Medline, and PsycINFO were used to identify eligible studies that assessed children's (30 months to 18 years old) fear of novel stimuli after being exposed to parental verbal threat information. We selected 17 studies for the meta-analysis and 18 for the systematic review. The meta-analysis revealed a significant causal effect of parental verbal threat information on children's fear reaction towards novel stimuli [g = 1.26]. No evidence was found for a moderation of verbal learning effects, neither by child or parent anxiety levels nor by child age. The effect of parents' verbal threat information on children's fear of novel stimuli is large and not dependent on anxiety levels or child age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosima Anna Nimphy
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Vasiliki Mitrou
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Bernet M Elzinga
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willem Van der Does
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden University Treatment Center (LUBEC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Evin Aktar
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands
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3
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Somers JA, Ho TC, Roubinov D, Lee SS. Integrating Biobehavioral and Environmental Components of Developmental Psychopathology via Interpersonal Dynamics: An RDoC-Advancing Model. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024; 52:491-504. [PMID: 37603188 PMCID: PMC10879449 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01110-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Although the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDoC) framework proposes biological and environmental mechanisms intersect in the etiology of psychopathology, there is no guidance on how to define or measure experiences in the environment within the RDoC matrix. Interpersonal dynamics during caregiver-child interactions involve temporal coordination of interacting partners' biobehavioral functioning; repeated experiences of signaling to caregivers and responding to caregivers' signals shape children's subsequent socioemotional and brain development. We begin with a review of the extant literature on caregiver-child dynamics, which reveals that RDoC's units of analysis (brain circuits, physiology, behavior, and self-report) are inextricably linked with moment-to-moment changes in the caregiving environment. We then offer a proof-of-concept for integrating biobehavioral RDoC units and environmental components via caregiver-child dynamics. Our approach uses dynamic structural equation models to estimate within-dyad dynamics involving arousal, social, cognitive, and negative or positive affective processes based on second-by-second changes in parasympathetic activity (RSA) during a conflict discussion and a positive event-planning task. Our results illustrate variation in parent-child RSA synchrony, suggesting differences depending on the driver (i.e., child- or parent-led) and on the unique and intersecting domains involved (e.g., positive or negative affect valence systems). We conclude with recommendations for conducting robust, methodologically rigorous studies of interpersonal dynamics that advance the RDoC framework and provide a summary of the clinical implications of this research. Examining caregiver-child dynamics during and across multiple dyadic interaction paradigms that differentially elicit key domains of functioning can deepen understanding of how caregiver- and child-led interpersonal dynamics contribute to child psychopathology risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Somers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 502 Portola Plaza, Pritzker Hall, CA, 6658, Los Angeles, USA.
| | - Tiffany C Ho
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 502 Portola Plaza, Pritzker Hall, CA, 6658, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Danielle Roubinov
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Steve S Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 502 Portola Plaza, Pritzker Hall, CA, 6658, Los Angeles, USA
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4
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Wass S, Greenwood E, Esposito G, Smith C, Necef I, Phillips E. Annual Research Review: 'There, the dance is - at the still point of the turning world' - dynamic systems perspectives on coregulation and dysregulation during early development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024; 65:481-507. [PMID: 38390803 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
During development we transition from coregulation (where regulatory processes are shared between child and caregiver) to self-regulation. Most early coregulatory interactions aim to manage fluctuations in the infant's arousal and alertness; but over time, coregulatory processes become progressively elaborated to encompass other functions such as sociocommunicative development, attention and executive control. The fundamental aim of coregulation is to help maintain an optimal 'critical state' between hypo- and hyperactivity. Here, we present a dynamic framework for understanding child-caregiver coregulatory interactions in the context of psychopathology. Early coregulatory processes involve both passive entrainment, through which a child's state entrains to the caregiver's, and active contingent responsiveness, through which the caregiver changes their behaviour in response to behaviours from the child. Similar principles, of interactive but asymmetric contingency, drive joint attention and the maintenance of epistemic states as well as arousal/alertness, emotion regulation and sociocommunicative development. We describe three ways in which active child-caregiver regulation can develop atypically, in conditions such as Autism, ADHD, anxiety and depression. The most well-known of these is insufficient contingent responsiveness, leading to reduced synchrony, which has been shown across a range of modalities in different disorders, and which is the target of most current interventions. We also present evidence that excessive contingent responsiveness and excessive synchrony can develop in some circumstances. And we show that positive feedback interactions can develop, which are contingent but mutually amplificatory child-caregiver interactions that drive the child further from their critical state. We discuss implications of these findings for future intervention research, and directions for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Wass
- UEL BabyDevLab, Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
| | - Emily Greenwood
- UEL BabyDevLab, Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
| | - Giovanni Esposito
- UEL BabyDevLab, Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
| | - Celia Smith
- Institute of Psychology Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King's College, London, UK
| | - Isil Necef
- UEL BabyDevLab, Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
| | - Emily Phillips
- UEL BabyDevLab, Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK
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5
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Schönig SN, Thompson E, Kingston J, Gaudiano BA, Ellett L, Krkovic K. The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree? Paranoia and Safety Behaviours in Adolescent-Parent-Dyads. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024; 52:267-275. [PMID: 37740777 PMCID: PMC10834552 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01128-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Paranoia is a common experience in adolescence that may entail the use of safety behaviours (e.g. avoidance), which are assumed to maintain paranoia in the long run. As the development of paranoia and related safety behaviours in youth may be influenced by their caregivers, we aimed to investigate the associations of paranoia and safety behaviours in adolescents and their parents. Adolescents from the general population aged 14-17 and one of their parents (N = 142 dyads) were recruited via Qualtrics to complete online surveys including measures of paranoia, safety behaviour use, anxiety, and demographics. We fitted an Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model (APIM) for testing dyadic parent-child interaction by using structural equation modelling and controlled for adolescents' and parents' anxiety. Results indicated that paranoia positively predicted safety behaviour use in adolescents and in parents. There were significant positive intra-dyad (i.e. parent-adolescent) correlations for both paranoia and safety behaviour use. One partner effect was significant: parental paranoia positively predicted the safety behaviour use of their adolescent child. Conversely, adolescents' paranoia did not predict their parents' safety behaviour use. Our findings corroborate prior research demonstrating an association between paranoia and safety behaviours among adults, and extend this association to adolescents. Children of parents experiencing paranoia are at increased risk of developing paranoia and safety behaviours, which indicates the need for interventions that target paranoia and safety behaviours in family systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven N Schönig
- Department of Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Elizabeth Thompson
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Jessica Kingston
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, UK
| | - Brandon A Gaudiano
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Lyn Ellett
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Katarina Krkovic
- Department of Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Allen KB, Tan PZ, Sullivan JA, Baumgardner M, Hunter H, Glovak SN. An Integrative Model of Youth Anxiety: Cognitive-Affective Processes and Parenting in Developmental Context. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2023; 26:1025-1051. [PMID: 37819403 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-023-00458-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Multiple theoretical frameworks have been proposed to provide a more comprehensive picture of the risk factors that influence anxiety-related developmental trajectories. Nonetheless, there remains a need for an integrative model that outlines: (1) which risk factors may be most pertinent at different points in development, and (2) how parenting may maintain, exacerbate, or attenuate an affective style that is characterized by high negative emotional reactivity to unfamiliar, uncertain, and threatening situations. A developmentally informed, integrative model has the potential to guide treatment development and delivery, which is critical to reducing the public health burden associated with these disorders. This paper outlines a model integrating research on many well-established risk mechanisms for anxiety disorders, focusing on (1) the developmental progression from emotional reactivity constructs early in life to those involving higher-level cognitive processes later in youth, and (2) potential pathways by which parenting may impact the stability of youth's cognitive-affective responses to threat-relevant information across development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristy Benoit Allen
- Departments of Applied Behavioral Science and Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
| | - Patricia Z Tan
- Department of Psychiatry/Mental Health, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Megan Baumgardner
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Hannah Hunter
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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Nook EC, Nardini C, Zacharek SJ, Hommel G, Spencer H, Martino A, Morra A, Flores S, Anderson T, Marin CE, Silverman WK, Lebowitz ER, Gee DG. Affective language spreads between anxious children and their mothers during a challenging puzzle task. Emotion 2023; 23:1513-1521. [PMID: 36595385 PMCID: PMC10314965 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Humans influence each other's emotions. The spread of emotion is well documented across behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroscientific levels of analysis, but might this influence also be evident in language (e.g., are people more likely to use emotion words after hearing someone else use them)? The current study tests whether mothers and children influence each other's use of affective language. From 2018 to 2020, children aged 6-12 who met diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders and their mothers (N = 93 dyads) completed a challenging puzzle task while being video recorded. Analyses of transcriptions revealed that mothers and children indeed influenced each other's language. Bidirectional influence was observed for use of negative affect words: Mothers were more likely to use negative affect words if their child had just used negative affect words (over and above mothers' own language on their previous turn), and children were similarly influenced by mother affect word use. A similar bidirectional relation emerged for linguistic distance, a measure related to effective emotion regulation and mental health. However, the significance of the child-to-mother direction of influence for these two variables varied depending on correction threshold and should thus be verified in future research. Nonetheless, these findings extend understanding of emotional influence by showing turn-by-turn relations between the use of affective language. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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8
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Palmer E, Woolgar M, Carter B, Cartwright-Hatton S, Challacombe FL. Preventing anxiety in the children of anxious parents - feasibility of a brief, online, group intervention for parents of one- to three-year-olds. Child Adolesc Ment Health 2023; 28:33-41. [PMID: 35983606 DOI: 10.1111/camh.12596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evidence suggests an increased risk of developing anxiety problems in children of anxious parents. The current study explored the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention with anxious parents of young children, to inform the possibility of further trials. METHODS Participants were recruited through primary and secondary care psychological services and social media. Participants who had a current or recent anxiety disorder and a child aged 12-47 months were included. Assessments of parental and child outcomes occurred at baseline, after the intervention (week-2) and follow-up (week-8). The intervention was delivered in a small group format, in two sessions, one week apart, using videoconferencing. RESULTS Out of 32 participants, 30 (94%) attended the full intervention. All found the intervention acceptable and reported it as useful and relevant. There was a reduction in parental depression (MD = 2.63, 95%CI 1.01-4.26), anxiety (MD = 3.93, 95%CI 2.49-5.37) and stress (MD = 4.60, 95% CI 3.02-6.18) and increases in parenting confidence. CONCLUSIONS The online group intervention was feasible and acceptable. There were moderate to large effects on parental mental health and no adverse effects on children (decline on outcome measures). This indicates that intervening early in parenting with anxious parents is possible and warrants further investigation to establish prevention efficacy with a larger, controlled trial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Palmer
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Matt Woolgar
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Ben Carter
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Fiona L Challacombe
- Section of Women's Mental Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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The Influence of Parents on Emotion Regulation in Middle Childhood: A Systematic Review. CHILDREN 2022; 9:children9081200. [PMID: 36010090 PMCID: PMC9406957 DOI: 10.3390/children9081200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Emotion regulation (ER) has been identified as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology, making it an ideal target for prevention and treatment. This study explores how parents can nurture the development of child ER. In April 2022, a systematic review was executed focusing on malleable factors in the parental emotion-socialization process during middle childhood. Papers in PubMed, Web of Science and Medline were screened on content-related and methodological criteria. Their methodological quality was assessed. Knowledge was assembled using a summarizing framework encompassing four factors involved in emotion socialization. Fifty papers shed light on modifiable factors at the level of parental meta-emotion philosophy, emotion-related socialization behaviors, the ER skills of parents and the emotional climate of the family. Adaptive socialization appears to be context- and child-specific, thereby taxing parents’ ER skills and their ability to put them into practice flexibly. The four changeable factors in the emotion-socialization process are highly intertwined, resulting in four possible entries for parent-directed interventions. Importantly, time should be devoted to the ER capacities of parents and their ability to attune to the situation and their child. Regarding the latter, replication studies are necessary. Recommendations for clinical interventions are provided.
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