Temperament and the environment in the etiology of childhood anxiety

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are prevalent throughout childhood and adolescence. As such, identifying the factors and mechanisms that precede, maintain, or exacerbate anxiety disorders is essential for the development of empirically-based prevention and intervention programs. The current review focuses on child temperament (i.e., behavioral inhibition) and the child's environment, including parenting, child care, and peer relationships, as these factors have been linked to internalizing problems and anxiety diagnoses. Research programs are needed that examine the associations between the environment and anxiety in temperamentally at-risk populations. In order to be successful, early intervention and prevention programs require a more detailed analysis of the interplay between various environmental contexts, both distal and proximal to the child, and the child's temperamental reactivity to novelty and threat. Furthermore, conducting these investigations across multiple levels of analysis in large-scale, longitudinal samples would be an important addition to the literature on the developmental psychopathology of anxiety.

Temperament, Family Environment and Anxiety in Preschool Children

“…In this way family environment would be conceptualised as a moderator of the child temperament -anxiety relationship. Finally, it has also been proposed that family environment might mediate the relationship between temperament and child anxiety (Degnan et al, 2010). For example, temperament might lead to more overinvolved parenting which might, in turn, lead to increased anxiety.…”

“…In summary, although research has established that BI and family environment are associated with child anxiety, research including multiple risk factors remains scarce (Degnan et al, 2010). Furthermore, with the notable exception of the cross-sectional study by Shamir-Essakow et al (2005), previous research examining multiple risk factors has relied on questionnaire measures of temperament, family environment and anxiety.…”

Temperament and parenting predicting anxiety change in cognitive behavioral therapy: The role of mothers, fathers, and children

“…Therefore, there is a need to identify factors associated with treatment success and failure, which can aid in improving intervention strategies. Both stable child characteristics and environmental (parent) factors are considered to be important in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders (for a review see Degnan, Almas, & Fox, 2010). However, there is scant research on the role these factors may play in treatment outcomes for anxiety disorders.…”

Temperament and Family Environment in the Development of Anxiety Disorder: Two-Year Follow-up

“…8,9 The family environment represents one factor that is likely to be important in young children's lives. Indeed, extensive research has reported that family factors such as parenting, attachment and parental psychopathology, play a role in the etiology of child anxiety.…”