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Family and Parent Predictors of Anxiety Disorder Onset in Offspring of Anxious Parents

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Abstract

Background

Offspring of anxious parents are at increased risk for developing anxiety disorders. There is a need to identify which youth are at greatest risk for disorder onset in this population.

Objective

This study prospectively examined several theory-based family and parent characteristics (e.g., family conflict, parental over-control, parental psychopathology) as predictors of anxiety disorder onset in children whose parents were clinically anxious.

Methods

Families were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial evaluating a family-based preventative intervention, relative to an information monitoring control condition, for offspring of anxious parents (N = 136; child mean age 8.69 years; 55% female; 85% Caucasian). Family and parent measures were collected using multiple informants and an observational task at baseline, post-intervention, and at a 6 and 12 month follow-up. Child anxiety disorder diagnosis was determined by independent evaluators using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children.

Results

Results indicated that none of the baseline family or parent variables examined predicted the onset of an anxiety disorder in children over the 1 year follow-up period.

Conclusions

Findings raise questions about the short-term risk associated with family and parent factors in anxiety disorder development in this high risk population.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH077312) awarded to Golda S. Ginsburg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA

    Golda S. Ginsburg

  2. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jessica L. Schleider

  3. Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Jenn Yun Tein

  4. Anxiety Treatment Center of Maryland, Ellicott City, MD, USA

    Kelly L. Drake

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Office: 65 Kane Street Room 2033, West Hartford, CT, 06119, USA

    Golda S. Ginsburg

Authors
  1. Golda S. Ginsburg
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  2. Jessica L. Schleider
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  3. Jenn Yun Tein
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  4. Kelly L. Drake
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Golda S. Ginsburg.

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Conflict of interest

None of the authors have potential conflicts of interest to report.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ginsburg, G.S., Schleider, J.L., Tein, J.Y. et al. Family and Parent Predictors of Anxiety Disorder Onset in Offspring of Anxious Parents. Child Youth Care Forum 47, 363–376 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-017-9432-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-017-9432-z

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