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Background: Anxiety disorders are common in children and contribute to adverse developmental outcomes. Although etiological models of child anxiety have identified various environmental factors, very few studies in India have examined these factors in children presenting with anxiety disorders. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine parenting styles, parental personality, and child temperament in children with anxiety disorders in an Indian outpatient setting. Methods: In total, 42 children with anxiety disorders and 42 typically developing children, matched on age and gender, were screened using Child Behavior Checklist, Color Progressive Matrices, and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Parent version. Their parents were screened using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0, following which they filled the questionnaires for parenting styles, parent personality, and child temperament. Results: There were significant differences between the two groups on parenting style, parent personality, and child temperament. Anxiety disorder was positively associated with the father’s permissiveness and negatively with the mother’s authoritativeness and child’s sociability. A combination of parenting styles and child temperament explained 69% of the variances in child anxiety disorders. There were significant associations between parental personality, child temperament, and parenting style. Parent and child characteristics explained 14%–46% of the variances in parenting styles. Conclusion: Results of this study are generally consistent with Western studies outlining the influence of child temperament and parenting styles on child outcome and have important implications for clinical management of anxiety disorders.

Background:Children of people with alcohol dependence (COAs) are at high risk for behavioral and cognitive problems.Aim:Aim of this study was to compare the nature and extent of these problems in children of men with and without alcohol dependence.Materials and Methods:32 children (17 in study group and 15 controls) were evaluated for psychopathology, neurodevelopment, cognitive functioning and family environment. Tools used were: Socio-demographic data sheet, Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC), Child Behavior Checklist, Trail Making Test, Neurodevelopment Scale and the Family Environment Scale.Results:Children of men with alcohol dependence had higher externalizing than internalizing scores. Children of alcohol-dependent fathers had higher scores on the neurodevelopment scale and lower scores on the performance scale of the MISIC than the children in control group. These children also made more errors on the Trail Making Test. The family environment of COAs was characterized by lack of independence for its members, greater perceived control and lack of adequate cultural and intellectual activities.Conclusion:Our findings suggest that children of men with alcohol dependence have difficulties with frontal lobe functions and neurodevelopmental tasks. There are also difficulties in the family, which are related to alcohol consumption by the father.

Background: Pregnancy, though joyful, may be a time of fear and anxiety. Twenty percent of pregnant women in developed nations report a fear of childbirth, and 6%–10% describe a severe fear that is crippling. This could lead to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Data on fear of childbirth among pregnant women are lacking in India and would help in incorporating measures to enhance routine antenatal care. Methodology: With the objective of documenting fear of childbirth and associated factors, a cross-sectional study was conducted in rural Karnataka among women availing antenatal care services, using a face-validated 30 item questionnaire developed by the authors which was then scored to determine fear of childbirth. Results: Of 388 women studied, 45.4% (176) had a fear of childbirth. The commonest fears documented were: not feeling confident about childbirth, being afraid or tense about the process of childbirth, fear of labor pains, and fear of cesarean section. Teenage pregnancy, nulliparity, primigravida status, and having no living child were significantly associated with fear of childbirth. Conclusion: Overall, 45.4% (176) of women had a fear of childbirth. It is important to identify and address the various fears of childbirth that women may have, as revealed by this study, with a view to providing information and reassurance to the mother, with the aim of improved maternal and fetal outcomes.