The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of maternal modeling on the acquisition of fear and avoidance towards fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant, novel stimuli in a sample of 71 toddlers. Children were shown a rubber snake or spider (fear-relevant objects) and a rubber mushroom or flower (fear-irrelevant objects), which were alternately paired with either negative or positive expression by their mothers. Both stimuli were presented again after a 1-and a 10-min delay, while mothers maintained a neutral expression. The toddlers showed increased fear and avoidance of the objects following negative reaction from their mothers than following positive maternal expression. This was similarly true for both fearrelevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli. In addition, no association was found between child temperament and behavioral responses and a weak association emerged between child temperament and emotional responses. The results demonstrate that young children can rapidly form conditioned emotional and behavioral responses via maternal reactions regardless of stimulus preparedness or child temperament. It is suggested that early maternal modeling may be relevant to a broad spectrum of fearful reactions.

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This study extends prior research on the Picture Anxiety Test (PAT; Dubi & Schneider, 2009 ) in clinical samples, by examining psychometric properties and acceptance in a community sample of 153 4–8-year-old children. Children completed the PAT and the RCMAS, a well-established questionnaire measuring anxiety. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires on anxiety and externalizing behavior. In addition, a panel of psychologists and psychiatrists evaluated the PAT for quality and utility. Results indicated high internal consistencies for the subscales and composite scale, very high interrater reliability, and moderate to high test-retest reliability. Substantial correlations between the PAT and the RCMAS indicated good convergent validity. Sex and age differences were found for some subscales. Agreement between children and their parents and teachers was generally low. Children reported high acceptance of the PAT, and the panel of psychologists and psychiatrists rated the PAT as high in both quality and utility. Results were consistent with prior research on the PAT in clinical samples and indicate reliability and validity for assessing anxiety in a subclinical community sample.