The Intergenerational Transmission of Anxiety: A Children-of-Twins Study

Eley, Thalia C.; McAdams, Tom A.; Rijsdijk, Frühling; Lichtenstein, Paul; Narusyte, Jurgita; Reiss, David; Spotts, Erica L.; Ganiban, Jody M.; Neiderhiser, Jenaè M.

doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14070818

Cited by 238 publications

(181 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The finding that inherited influence had a trivial effect on the developmental trajectory of a child anxiety symptoms and a small effect on overall symptom levels at 18 months is consistent with recent children of twins work showing that an environment pathway, but not a genetic one, significantly predicted child anxiety symptoms (Eley, et al, 2015). Eley et al concluded that although the lack of evidence for a genetic pathway…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…The 'children-of-twins' design enables genetic transmission to be separated from environmental transmission and in a recent example by Eley et al (2015), data from 385 monozygotic and 486 dizygotic same-sex twin parents and their offspring (aged 11 to 22) were analyzed. The study showed that environmental mechanisms account for parentchild similarity but the data were equally consistent with children's anxiety affecting parental symptoms as the reverse.…”

Section: Parental Influence On Childhood Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maternal and paternal influences on the developmental trajectory of childhood anxiety symptoms: a genetically sensitive investigation

Field¹,

Lester²,

Cartwright‐Hatton³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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One theory suggests that anxious fathers may pose a greater environmental influence on childhood anxiety than anxious mothers. This study uses the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) to test rearing parent anxiety influences from mothers and fathers on child anxiety symptoms between 18 months and 4.5, while considering inherited influences. The EGDS is a longitudinal, multisite study of adopted children recruited through US adoption agencies, and their adoptive and birth parents. Bayesian latent growth models of the trajectory of child anxiety symptoms over 3 years predicted from inherited (birth parent anxiety) and adoptive parent anxiety influences were compared for maternal and paternal measures. Parameter estimates and their HPD intervals provided evidence that the slope for anxiety symptoms between 18 and 54 months is trivially affected by both rearing parent anxiety and inherited influences from both mothers and fathers. Similarly, rearing parental anxiety and inherited influence from both mothers and fathers had only a very small effect on the intercept for growth (anxiety symptoms at 18 months old). The evidence for differences between mothers and fathers for any of these parameters was, at best, weak. Contrary to theoretical predictions, anxiety in the rearing father is unlikely to have a more important role in fostering child anxiety symptoms than that in the rearing mother.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Parental Influence On Childhood Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal and paternal influences on the developmental trajectory of childhood anxiety symptoms: a genetically sensitive investigation

Field¹,

Lester²,

Cartwright‐Hatton³

et al. 2017

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Cognitive vulnerability is suggested to interact with familial risk (e.g., negative and aversive family or peer experiences, insecure attachment with caregivers; Affrunti & WoodruffBorden, 2015; review by Waite, Whittington & Creswell, 2014), and exposure to specific threat experiences and challenging life events (e.g., Muris & Merkelbach, 2001;Oar, Farrell, & Ollendick, 2015;Rachman, 1998;Rapee, 2001). For example, while children inherit genes that increase vulnerability for anxiety (Hancock, Mitrou, Shipley, Lawrence & Zubrick, 2013;Micco et al, 2009), they are also more likely to experience an anxiogenic parenting style that can include parent over-control, parent modeling of anxiety and distress, and the sharing of negative information and avoidance of feared objects or events (Eley, 2015;review by Creswell Murray, Stacey & Cooper, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Special Issue: Understanding the Role of Attentional Control in the Development of Anxiety in Childhood, Adolescence and across the Lifespan

Hadwin

Visu‐Petra

Muris³

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology

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Anxiety is characterised by a distinctive emotional, cognitive and behavioural symptomatology. The central emotional symptoms are fear and apprehension, often evoked by the occurrence or anticipation of specific types of situations; the primary cognitive symptoms are negative thoughts and worries concerning the uncertainties and potential threats associated with such situations; and the main behavioural symptom is avoidance or attempted avoidance of these situations (Grills, Seligman & Ollendick, 2014). People differ in terms of the degree to which they are inclined to experience anxiety, which reflects a temperamental dimension known as trait anxiety. Trait anxiety is defined as a general and stable predisposition to experience worries and concerns across different contexts, and its presence increases current and transient feelings of state anxiety in the context of or expectation of threat (Gidron, 2013). Higher levels of trait anxiety are associated with intolerance of uncertainty, which reflects a preference for certainty and increased engagement in behaviours linked to the management and avoidance of situations that are unpredictable or ambiguous (Birrell, Meares, Wilkinson & Freeston, 2011; Chen & Lovibond, 2016). Individual differences in the disposition to experience anxiety are evident from early childhood, when elevated anxiety vulnerability typically manifests as behavioural inhibition (BI). Children with high levels of BI display negative reactions to novelty, heightened sensitivity to stimulus variations and withdrawal from social situations, which can result in peer rejection and reduced assertiveness (Fox & Pine, 2012). Early manifestations of heightened dispositional anxiety predict an increased tendency to experience problematic levels of anxiety in adolescence (Fox, Henderson, Marshall, Nichols & Ghera, 2005). In addition, longitudinal evidence supports multifactorial models in which anxious rearing and parental trait anxiety play a major role in the development

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“…Det er påvist en klar sammenheng mellom det å vokse opp med psykisk syke eller rusmisbrukende foreldre og skadevirkninger hos barna (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Det er risiko for at foreldrenes psykiske eller rusrelaterte vansker påvirker deres funksjon som forelder, og dermed negativt påvirker miljøet barna oppholder seg i (1,3,6).…”

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“…Det er risiko for at foreldrenes psykiske eller rusrelaterte vansker påvirker deres funksjon som forelder, og dermed negativt påvirker miljøet barna oppholder seg i (1,3,6).…”

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