title: Positive thinking in anxiety disordered children reconsidered.
abstract: Negatively valenced thoughts are assumed to play a central role in the development and maintenance of anxiety. However, the role of positive thoughts in anxiety is rather unclear. In the current study we examined the role of negative and positive self-statements in the anxiety level of anxious and non-anxious children. Participants were 139 anxiety disordered children and 293 non-anxious children (8-18 years). Compared to non-anxious children, anxious children reported more negative thoughts, less positive thoughts and lower State of Mind (SOM) ratios (ratio of positive to negative thoughts). Negative thoughts and SOM ratios were the strongest predictors of anxiety level in anxious children; whereas both negative and positive thoughts were the strongest predictors of anxiety level in non-anxious children. To conclude, a lack of positive thoughts might be more than just an epiphenomenon of anxiety level and might deserve a place in the cognitive model of anxiety.
authors: Academic Medical Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/de Bascule, Meibergdreef 5, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. s.m.hogendoorn@amc.uva.nl
authors: Sanne M
authors: SM
authors: Hogendoorn
authors: Pier J M
authors: PJ
authors: Prins
authors: Leentje
authors: L
authors: Vervoort
authors: Lidewij H
authors: LH
authors: Wolters
authors: Maaike H
authors: MH
authors: Nauta
authors: Catharina A
authors: CA
authors: Hartman
authors: Harma
authors: H
authors: Moorlag
authors: Else
authors: E
authors: de Haan
authors: Frits
authors: F
authors: Boer
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D013850:Thinking