108 research outputs found
Maternal depressive symptoms, and not anxiety symptoms, are associated with positive motherâchild reporting discrepancies of internalizing problems in children: a report on the TRAILS Study
Maternal internalizing problems affect reporting of childâs problem behavior. This study addresses the relative effects of maternal depressive symptoms versus anxiety symptoms and the association with differential reporting of mother and child on childâs internalizing problems. The study sample comprised a cohort of 1,986 10- to 12-year-old children and their mothers from the Dutch general population in a cross sectional setup. Childrenâs internalizing problems were assessed with the DSM-IV anxiety and affective problem scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Current maternal internalizing problems were assessed with the depressive and anxiety symptom scales of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), while the TRAILS Family History Interview (FHI) measured lifetime maternal depression and anxiety. Results show that current and lifetime maternal depressive symptoms were associated with positive motherâchild reporting discrepancies (i.e. mothers reporting more problems than their child). Considering the small amount of variance explained, we conclude that maternal depressive symptoms do not bias maternal reporting on childâs internalizing problems to a serious degree. Studies concerning long term consequences of motherâchild reporting discrepancies on childâs internalizing problems are few, but show a risk for adverse outcome. More prognostic research is needed
Stable Genetic Influence on Anxiety-Related Behaviours Across Middle Childhood
We examined the aetiology of anxiety symptoms in an unselected population at ages 7 and 9, a period during which anxiety disorders first begin to develop (mean age at onset is 11Â years). Specifically, the aim of the study was to investigate genetic and environmental continuity and change in components of anxiety in middle childhood. Parents of over 3,500 twin pairs completed the Anxiety-Related Behaviours Questionnaire (ARBQ) when twins were 7 and 9Â years old. Multivariate-longitudinal analyses were conducted to examine genetic and environmental influences on stability and change in four anxiety scales: Negative Cognition, Negative Affect, Fear and Social Anxiety. We found moderate temporal stability in all four scales from 7 to 9Â years (correlations ranging from 0.45 to 0.54) and moderate heritability (average 54%). Both shared and non-shared environmental influences were modest (average 18%â28% respectively). Genetic factors (68%) explained most of the homotypic continuity in anxiety. We show that homotypic continuity of Anxiety-Related Behaviours (i.e. the continuation of one specific type of anxiety over time) was largely driven by genetic factors. In contrast, though more varied, heterotypic continuity between some traits (i.e. the change from one type of anxiety-related behaviour into another over time) was mainly due to shared-environmental factors
Assessment issues in longitudinal studies of psychopathology from adolescence to young adulthood
- âŠ