Broeren, S.M.L.

The Role of Repetitive Negative Thoughts in the Vulnerability for Emotional Problems in Non-Clinical Children (Article)

2011-04-01T00:00:00Z

The current study examined the role of repetitive negative thoughts in the vulnerability for emotional problems in non-clinical children aged 8-13 years (N=158). Children completed self-report questionnaires for assessing (1) neuroticism and behavioral inhibition as indicators of general vulnerability (2) worry and rumination which are two important manifestations of repetitive negative thoughts, and (3) emotional problems (i. e., anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties). Results demonstrated that there were positive correlations between measures of general vulnerability, repetitive negative thoughts, and emotional problems. Further, support was found for a model in which worry and rumination acted as partial mediators in the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of anxiety and depression. In the case of sleep difficulties, no evidence was obtained for such a mediation model. In fact, data suggested that sleeping difficulties are better conceived as an epiphenomenon of high symptom levels of anxiety and depression or as a risk factor for the development of other types of psychopathology. Finally, besides neuroticism, the temperamental trait of behavioral inhibition appeared to play a unique direct role in the model predicting anxiety symptoms but not in the models predicting depressive symptoms or sleep difficulties. To conclude, the current findings seem to indicate that worry and rumination contribute to children's vulnerability for anxiety and depression.

Anxiety in Non‐Clinical Children: Developmental Course and Vulnerability Factors (Doctoral Thesis)

2011-01-14T00:00:00Z

Some children are afraid of the dark, spiders, ghosts, or imaginary creatures, others are apprehensive of something bad happening to their parents or themselves, or worry about doing something stupid in front of others. Nevertheless, fear and anxiety are a normal part of childhood development and can be seen as an adaptive response to stimuli and situations that are potentially threatening or dangerous (Marks, 1987). Normal fear and anxiety in youths shows a clear developmental pattern (Gullone, 2000). Marks (1987) has described this pattern as the “ontogenetic parade”, which refers to the rise and disappearance of certain fears in a predictable sequence during children’s development. That is, in their preschool years, children’s fears are focused on imaginary creatures (e.g., ghosts, witches), animals, strangers, and their natural environment (e.g., the dark, thunderstorms). In middle childhood, fears of physical danger, bodily injury, and school performance become more prominent, whereas during adolescence, youths more often report fears about social evaluations and interactions, death, and illness (Bauer, 1976; Muris, Merckelbach, Gadet, & Moulaert, 2000). Fear and anxiety are thought to come up and disappear following this predictive pattern because they are linked to different developmental stages and the specific dangers that children encounter during these stages (Marks, 1987). For example, fear of strangers and separation anxiety become manifest around the time that infants have learned to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar faces, whereas fear of heights usually develops around the time infants start crawling. When children have acquired these cognitive and/or physical skills, they encounter potential dangers (e.g., strangers, heights) for which they do not already have developed sufficient cognitive capacity to understand. Therefore, children develop fears to protect them from these potential dangers by triggering the appropriate safety responses (e.g., avoiding strangers or avoiding heights). When children acquire the cognitive abilities to understand the potential dangers of these situations and learn how to deal with them, their fear or anxiety for these stimuli or situations usually abates. Thus, it seems that children’s fears and anxiety are closely linked to their cognitive and physical development.

A psychometric evaluation of the behavioral inhibition questionnaire in a non-clinical sample of Dutch children and adolescents. (Article)

2010-04-01T00:00:00Z

The Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire (BIQ) is a parent-rating scale for measuring temperamental characteristics referring to shyness, fearfulness, and withdrawal in young, preschool children. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the BIQ in a Dutch community sample of children with a broad age range. For this purpose,the reliability and validity of the BIQ was evaluated in three age groups: 4-7-year-olds,8-11-year-olds, and 12-15-year-olds. The results indicated that the internal consistency of most BIQ scales was satisfactory in all three age groups. Principal component analysis of the BIQ yielded a six-factor model that was largely in keeping with the hypothesized structure consisting of the social and non-social components of behavioral inhibition.Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that this model provided a reasonable fit for the data. Further, support for the validity of the measure was obtained in all age groups. That is, BIQ scores were positively correlated with a wide range of anxiety symptoms, although the most substantial links were found for symptoms of social anxiety. Finally, a self-report version of the BIQ, which was administered to children aged 9 years and above, was found to possess good internal consistency and adequate parent-child agreement. Altogether, the results of this study indicate that suggests that the BIQ might be a reliable and valid measure for assessing behavioral inhibition not only in preschoolers but also in older children and adolescents.

They are afraid of the animal, so therefore I am too: Influence of peer modeling on fear beliefs and approach-avoidance behaviors towards animals in typically developing children (Article)

2010-01-01T00:00:00Z

This study investigated the effect of filmed peer modeling on fear beliefs and approach-avoidance behaviors towards animals in 8- to 10-year-old typically developing children. Ninety-seven children randomly received either a positive or negative modeling film in which they saw peers interact with a novel animal. Before and after this film, children's fear beliefs and avoidance tendencies towards the modeled and non-modeled control animal were measured. A behavioral approach task was also administered post-modeling. Following positive peer modeling, children's fear beliefs and avoidance tendencies towards the modeled but also towards the non-modeled animal decreased significantly. After negative modeling, children's fear beliefs towards the modeled animal increased significantly, but did not change for the non-modeled animal. Negative modeling did not change avoidance tendencies for the modeled animal, while it decreased children's avoidance of the non-modeled animal. No significant effects were observed on the behavioral approach task. These results support Rachman's indirect pathway of modeling/vicarious learning as a plausible mechanism by which children can acquire fears of novel stimuli and stresses the important fear-reducing effects of positive peer modeling. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The relation between cognitive development and anxiety phenomena in children. (Article)

2009-12-01T00:00:00Z

We examined the relation between cognitive development and fear, anxiety, and behavioral inhibition in a non-clinical sample of 226 Dutch children aged 4–9 years. To assess cognitive development, children were tested with Piagetian conservation tasks and a Theory-of-Mind (TOM) test. Fears were measured by means of a self-report scale completed by the children, while anxiety symptoms and behavioral inhibition were indexed by rating scales that were filled out by parents. Significant age trends were observed for some anxiety phenomena. For example, younger children displayed higher fear scores, whereas older children exhibited higher levels of generalized anxiety. Most importantly, results of regression analyses (in which we controlled for age) indicated that cognitive development, and in particular TOM ability, made a unique and significant contribution to various domains of behavioral inhibition. In all cases, higher levels of TOM were associated with lower levels of behavioral inhibition. In general, percentages of explained variance were rather small (i.e., <6%), indicating that the role of cognitive development in various anxiety phenomena is limited.

Twenty-five Years of Research on Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Publication Trends Between 1982 and 2006 and a Selective Review of the Literature (Article)

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

We examined trends in publications on childhood anxiety disorders over the past 25 years. A PsycINFO search was carried out to find relevant research articles published between 1982 and 2006. Results indicated a gradual and significant rise in the frequency of publications on childhood anxiety disorders during the past 25 years, and this increase was particularly strong for post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, and multiple anxiety disorders. Most studies concerned the phenomenology of childhood anxiety disorders (i.e., >50%). Considerable less research has been conducted on the etiology, intervention, and assessment of these disorders in youths. Nevertheless, the conclusion seems warranted that the research on childhood anxiety disorders has made significant advancements during the past decades. This notion is supported by a selective review of the literature, which highlights important developments in this field of study.