Cognitive errors and anxiety in school aged children

Abstract

Cognitive models of emotional disorders emphasize the role of biased information processing in the psychological functioning of anxious individuals. So far, the role of cognitive errors in problems of childhood anxiety disorders has received little empirical attention. This study analyzes the relations between cognitive errors and symptoms of anxiety in a sample of school aged children. The sample, comprised by 205 children (8 to 13 years old), answered the Children's Negative Cognitive Errors Questionnaire (CNCEQ) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders -Revised (SCARED-R). Results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between cognitive errors and symptoms of anxiety, suggesting the importance of modifying these cognitive processes for prevention and intervention targeting anxiety problems in school aged children. Keywords: Cognitive errors, anxiety, children. ResumoOs modelos cognitivos das perturbações emocionais enfatizam o papel do processamento enviesado de informação em indivíduos ansiosos. Até ao momento, o papel dos erros cognitivos nos problemas de ansiedade na infância tem recebido pouca atenção empírica. Este estudo analisa a relação entre erros cognitivos e sintomatologia de ansiedade em crianças. A amostra é composta por 205 crianças (8-13 anos), que responderam ao Questionário de Erros Cognitivos para Crianças (CNCEQ) e à versão revista do Questionário de Avaliação de Perturbações Emocionais Relacionadas com a Ansiedade em Crianças (SCARED-R). Os resultados, que revelam uma relação positiva e estatisticamente significativa entre erros cognitivos e sintomatologia de ansiedade, sugerem a importância da modificação destes processos cognitivos na intervenção dirigida aos problemas de ansiedade em crianças. Palavras chave: Erros cognitivos, ansiedade, crianças.Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent problems in childhood and adolescence (Albano, Chorpita, & Barlow, 2003), affecting between 5.7 and 17.7% of children and youth (Costello & Angold, 1995). The high prevalence of anxiety disorders in childhood and its high social costs underlie the need to study the etiology of anxiety disorders. Knowledge of risk and maintenance factors of anxiety disorders is fundamental to the development of preventive strategies and effective intervention.Cognitive models emphasize the role of cognitive aspects in the development of emotional disorders. Beck's cognitive model (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) introduced the concept of cognitive distortions or errors by assigning to these cognitions a central role in the psychological functioning of depressed individuals, and later in the psychological functioning of anxious individuals (Beck, Emery, & Greenberg, 1985).These cognitive errors are characterized by a negative bias in the interpretations of events which are not based on reality. Even in those cases where there is a more realistic basis for these interpretations, the repetitive nature and the self-deprecating and extremely negative content, causes them to have...

Depression, Anxiety at School and Self-Esteem in Children with Learning Disabilities

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Ansiedade em situações de prova: evidências de validade de duas escalas

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“…Considerando o contexto avaliativo de forma mais ampla, há na literatura muitos estudos que analisaram a relação entre ansiedade e desempenho: em processos seletivos para conseguir um emprego, em apresentações em público, tendo como foco o desempenho relacionado a habilidades musicais e em atividades desportivas (Almeida, Behlau, & Leite, 2011;Hausknecht, Day & Thomas, 2004;In'nami, 2006;Oliveira & Duarte, 2004;Pereira, Barros, & Mendonça, 2012;Silva & Sponda, 2009& Vasconcelos-Raposo, Lázaro, Mota, & Fernandes, 2007. Entretanto, está longe de se estabelecer um consenso de que a relação entre ansiedade e desempenho é simplesmente de que uma está inversamente relacionada com a outra.…”

Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Program on Anxiety and Self-Esteem among Secondary School Students

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