title: The mediating effect of cognitive development on children's worry elaboration.
abstract: The present study investigated how developmentally determined cognitive mechanisms, holding theoretical links to the worry process, mediate the relationship between Age and Worry Elaboration in children. Sixty-four children aged 3-7 (M = 5.58, SD = 1.28) were presented with a Conservation of Liquid task assessing their Cognitive Development (specifically Concrete Operational Skills), a false-belief task to measure possession of Belief-Desire Theory of Mind, and a task measuring the ability to acknowledge multiple possibilities. The ability to elaborate on potential negative outcomes was assessed using a Worry Elaboration task. Mediation analysis revealed that all three variables significantly mediated the relationship between Age and Worry Elaboration. A multiple mediation model is presented in which Concrete Operational Skills, Belief-Desire Theory of Mind and Multiple Possibilities understanding mediate the relationship between Age and Worry Elaboration.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9QH, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Grist
authors.forename: Andy P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Field
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D032882:Comprehension; D003210:Concept Formation; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D017008:Negotiating / Q000379:methods*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic