The Influence of child temperament and parenting behaviours on the development of childhood anxiety

Abstract

Childhood anxiety disorders are the most prevalent type of mental health problem in children and they can have long-term detrimental impacts. It is therefore important to understand the risk factors involved in their development in order for effective prevention programmes to be developed. Observational and experimental research have implicated specific parenting behaviours, temperamental, and genetic factors in the development of childhood anxiety disorders.
The first chapter examines the temperamental factors implicated in the development of childhood anxiety disorders. Behavioural Inhibition (BI) is a temperamental style that can be identified from infancy, which is characterised by persistent demonstrations of fear, wariness, and reticence in unfamiliar situations. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis is presented, examining the association between BI and presentations of childhood anxiety. 55 studies reporting a quantitative outcome for the association between BI and childhood anxiety were included in the meta-analysis. The 55 studies, from 43 independent samples, presented 135 effect sizes for the association between BI and childhood anxiety. A positive significant association was found between BI and childhood anxiety. Meta-regressions examined factors moderating the association; stronger effect sizes were found when: anxiety was measured continuously, BI was measured by parent-report, and anxiety was measured by parent-report. Recommendations are made for further research to examine the interaction between temperamental and parenting factors in the development of childhood anxiety.
The second chapter presents an empirical study investigating the impact of two specific parenting behaviours on infant affect and behaviour. Research has shown that parental expression of anxiety can increase their child’s anxiety, whereas demonstrating encouraging behaviour is associated with less anxiety in the child. The study examined whether it is possible to modify these parenting behaviours using video tuition to model the target parenting behaviours, and then examined if this had an impact on infants’ affect and behaviour. Twenty-two mother-infant dyads completed two experimental social-referencing tasks in which they met with a stranger. In one, mothers expressed anxiety when interacting with a stranger, and in the other they expressed encouragement. Infant affect and behaviour during subsequent interaction with the strangers was recorded. Measures of maternal mood/anxiety and infant temperament were gathered to examine if these moderated any effects found. The video tuition was successful in modifying mothers' behaviours. Infant temperament had the strongest effect on infants’ affect and behaviour, irrespective of the experimental condition. The study has demonstrated the utility of video tuition for modifying behaviours implicated in the development of childhood anxiety. Recommendations are made to replicate the study in a clinical sample and for further exploration of temperamental factors.
Keywords: childhood; infancy; anxiety; behavioural inhibition; temperament; parenting

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ORCID for Peter Lawrence: orcid.org/0000-0001-6181-433X

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