Overprotective parenting and child anxiety: the role of co-occurring child behavior problems.
The relationship between overprotective parenting and child anxiety has been examined repeatedly because theories emphasize its role in the maintenance of child anxiety. No study has yet tested whether this relationship is unique to child anxiety, by controlling for commonly co-occurring behavior problems within the same children. The current study examined 190 children (age 7-13, 118 [corrected] boys) referred to mental health clinics and their parents. Results revealed that significant correlations between overprotective parenting and child anxiety symptoms disappear after controlling for co-occurring child behavior symptoms. It appears that overprotection is not uniquely related to child anxiety. Furthermore, overprotective parenting was significantly and uniquely related to child behavior symptoms. Researchers and practitioners need to consider co-occurring child behavior problems when working with the parents of anxious children.
Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway, P.B. 4623, Nydalen, 0405 Oslo, Norway. martina.gere@r-bup.no
Martina K
MK
Gere
Marianne A
MA
Villabø
Svenn
S
Torgersen
Philip C
PC
Kendall
D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires