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Stressful Life Events and Child Anxiety: Examining Parent and Child Mediators

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Abstract

While a number of factors have been linked with excessive anxiety (e.g., parenting, child temperament), the impact of stressful life events remains under-studied. Moreover, much of this literature has examined bivariate associations rather than testing more complex theoretical models. The current study extends the literature on life events and child anxiety by testing a theory-driven meditational model. Specifically, one child factor (child cognitions/locus of control), two parent factors (parent psychopathology and parenting stress), and two parent–child relationship factors (parent–child dysfunctional interaction and parenting style) were examined as mediators in the relationship between stressful life events and severity of child anxiety. One hundred and thirty anxious parents and their nonanxious, high-risk children (ages ranged from 7 to 13 years) participated in this study. Results indicated that levels of parenting stress, parental anxious rearing, and dysfunctional parent–child interaction mediated the association between stressful life events and severity of anxiety symptoms. Child cognition and parent psychopathology factors failed to emerge as mediators. Findings provide support for more complex theoretical models linking life events and child anxiety and suggest potential targets of intervention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Rheanna Platt & Sarah R. Williams

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, 65 Kane Street, Room 1005, West Hartford, CT, 06119, USA

    Golda S. Ginsburg

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  1. Rheanna Platt
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  2. Sarah R. Williams
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  3. Golda S. Ginsburg
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Correspondence to Golda S. Ginsburg.

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Platt, R., Williams, S.R. & Ginsburg, G.S. Stressful Life Events and Child Anxiety: Examining Parent and Child Mediators. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 47, 23–34 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0540-4

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