Relations Between Parental and Child Separation Anxiety: The Role of Dependency-Oriented Psychological Control.

Lisanne L Stone,Rutger C M E Engels,Jan M A M Janssens,Bart Soenens,Roy Otten

doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0122-x

Lisanne L Stone, Rutger C M E Engels + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0122-x

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Abstract

Although separation anxiety is prevalent in young children, it remains unclear whether and how maternal separation anxiety is related to separation anxiety in children. This study examined associations between maternal separation anxiety and separation anxiety in children, and the potential effect psychologically controlling parenting. Mothers (N = 269) and children (N = 287) recruited for a community sample participated in two 1-year interval data-waves. Children were aged five-eight and were interviewed using an age-appropriate method for obtaining self-reports of separation anxiety and perceptions of dependency-oriented psychologically controlling parenting. Mothers reported on their feelings of separation anxiety regarding their child via a questionnaire. We found that maternal separation anxiety was positively related to separation anxiety in children within, but not over time. We did not find psychologically controlling parenting to mediate this association. Studying other factors than parenting may be an important avenue for future research in explaining separation anxiety in children.

Highlights

Separation anxiety is a developmentally appropriate reaction of distress to separation of the caregiver during infancy and central to the child’s psychological development (Blatt 2004; Bowlby 1988; Mahler 2000)
Maternal separation anxiety at T1 was strongly related to maternal separation anxiety at T2 (Table 1)
Dependencyoriented psychological control was related to maternal separation anxiety and separation anxiety in children both concurrently and longitudinally

Summary

Introduction

Separation anxiety is a developmentally appropriate reaction of distress to separation of the caregiver during infancy and central to the child’s psychological development (Blatt 2004; Bowlby 1988; Mahler 2000). When symptoms of separation anxiety persist, these behaviors can become highly problematic and debilitating (Jurbergs and Ledley 2005). In this case, normative fears and worries concerning separation of the caregiver become non-age-appropriate and are associated to school refusal and excessive truancy (Egger et al 2003; Kearney and Albano 2004). Separation anxiety disorder is the most common anxiety classification below the age of 12 (Cartwright-Hatton et al 2006). It is an antecedent of adult anxiety disorders and linked to depression in young adults (Hirshfeld-Becker et al 2008). Symptoms of separation anxiety have been found to be more influenced by the shared environment than by heritability; gaining insight into familial factors that may maintain or exacerbate separation anxiety seems to be very important (Eley et al 2008)

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