Family accommodation mediates the association between anxiety symptoms in mothers and children

Jones, Johnna; Lebowitz, Eli R.; Marin, Carla E.; Stark, Kevin D.

doi:10.2989/17280583.2015.1007866

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Parental peripheral OT has been linked to parenting behavior, which in turn has been shown to influence the oxytocinergic system of infants, (Apter-Levy et al, 2013; Feldman et al, 2010b) and family accommodation has been found to mediate the link between anxiety in mothers and youth (Jones et al, 2015). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary oxytocin in clinically anxious youth: Associations with separation anxiety and family accommodation

Lebowitz¹,

Leckman²,

Feldman

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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Clinical anxiety disorders in youth are common and associated with interpersonal behaviors including reliance on parents for family accommodation, or changes that parents make to their own behaviors to help the youth avoid anxiety related distress. The neuropeptide oxytocin is associated with the regulation of anxiety and of close interpersonal behavior leading to the hypothesis that oxytocinergic functioning plays a role in youth anxiety and its disorders, and the resulting family accommodation. To test this hypothesis salivary OT from 50 youth with primary DSM-5 anxiety disorders was assayed. A multi-source/multi-method anxiety assessment including semistructured interviews with youth and mothers, rating scales, and behavioral observations was used to assess anxiety disorders and symptoms, and family accommodation. Youth with separation anxiety disorder had significantly lower salivary OT levels than clinically anxious youth not diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder. Salivary OT levels were significantly negatively correlated with separation anxiety symptoms based on both youth- and mother-ratings. Anxious behavior displayed by youth during interactions with their mothers was associated with lower salivary OT levels in youth. Maternal ratings of family accommodation were negatively associated with salivary OT levels in youth. Results support the role of the oxytocinergic system in youth anxiety and its disorders and in parental involvement in youth anxiety through family accommodation. OT may be particularly important for diagnoses and symptoms of separation anxiety, which is inherently interpersonal in nature. Findings have potentially important implications for assessment and treatment of anxiety in youth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary oxytocin in clinically anxious youth: Associations with separation anxiety and family accommodation

Lebowitz¹,

Leckman²,

Feldman

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…A study comparing child and mother ratings of family accommodation found that maternal anxiety moderates the link between the mother’s and child’s ratings, with more anxious mothers showing higher agreement with child ratings than less anxious mothers (Lebowitz et al 2014a, b). Another study by Jones et al (2015) directly examined whether family accommodation mediates the association between maternal anxiety and child anxiety and found significant mediation.…”

Section: Parent Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-generational influences on childhood anxiety disorders: pathways and mechanisms

Lebowitz¹,

Leckman²,

Silverman³

et al. 2016

J Neural Transm

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Anxiety disorders are common across the lifespan, cause severe distress and impairment, and usually have their onset in childhood. Substantial clinical and epidemiological research has demonstrated the existence of links between anxiety and its disorders in children and parents. Research on the pathways and mechanisms underlying these links has pointed to both behavioral and biological systems. This review synthesizes and summarizes several major aspects of this research. Behavioral systems include vicarious learning, social referencing, and modeling of parental anxiety; overly protective or critical parenting styles; and aspects of parental responses to child anxiety including family accommodation of the child’s symptoms. Biological systems include aspects of the prenatal environment affected by maternal anxiety, development and functioning of the oxytocinergic system, and genetic and epigenetic transmission. Implications for the prevention and treatment of child anxiety disorders are discussed, including the potential to enhance child anxiety treatment outcomes through biologically informed parent-based interventions.

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“…This study also confirmed the positive correlation between levels of accommodation and severity of anxiety symptoms in the child. In yet another study of family accommodation in pediatric anxiety, Jones et al ., [42] using FASA, found that family accommodation mediated the relation between maternal anxiety and child anxiety.…”

Section: Family Accommodation In Anxiety and Other Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders: a five-year update

Lebowitz

Panza

Bloch

2015

Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics

147

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Family accommodation describes changes that individuals make to their behavior, to help their relative who is dealing with a psychiatric and/or psychological disorder(s), avoid or alleviate distress related to the disorder. Research on family accommodation has advanced rapidly. In this update we aim to provide a synthesis of findings from the past five years. A search of available, peer-reviewed, English language papers was conducted through PubMed and PsycINFO, cross referencing psychiatric disorders with accommodation and other family-related terms. The resulting 121 papers were individually reviewed and evaluated and the main findings were discussed. Family accommodation is common in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and in anxiety disorders, and manifests similarly across these disorders. Family accommodation is associated with more severe psychopathology and poorer clinical outcomes. Treatments have begun to focus on the reduction of family accommodation as a primary therapeutic goal and finally, neurobiological underpinnings of family accommodation are beginning to be investigated.

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Family accommodation mediates the association between anxiety symptoms in mothers and children

Abstract: These results inform theory and imply that the development of interventions designed to target family accommodation may improve the prognosis of those diagnosed with paediatric anxiety disorders and youth with subclinical anxiety symptoms by reducing both parent and child anxiety.

Cited by 48 publications

References 46 publications

Salivary oxytocin in clinically anxious youth: Associations with separation anxiety and family accommodation

Salivary oxytocin in clinically anxious youth: Associations with separation anxiety and family accommodation

Cross-generational influences on childhood anxiety disorders: pathways and mechanisms

Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders: a five-year update

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