A Longitudinal Look at Parent–Child Diagnostic Agreement in Youth Treated for Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

This study examined diagnostic agreement between children and their parents for seventy 9- to 13-year-olds (45 boys and 25 girls) who had received cognitive–behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. Parent-child diagnostic rates and agreements for generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia were evaluated at 3 time points: pretreatment, posttreatment, and 7.4-year follow-up. Results indicate that parent–child diagnostic agreement was typically poor to moderate (κ = –.03 to .64) and that estimates of agreement remained relatively unchanged (a) following treatment and (b) as the children enter adolescence and young adulthood. Parent–daughter agreement was better than parent–son agreement in some cases. Although it remains unclear whether parent or child diagnostic information is most accurate, positive treatment outcome appears to be possible despite poor parent–child diagnostic agreement.