Abstract
Contrary to the well-documented link between parental and offspring clinical anxiety, little is known about the relationship between parental everyday-life anxieties (e.g., concerning family, finances, health) and offspring anxieties. To close this gap, we assessed the frequency of parental symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety disorders and everyday-life anxieties, as well as the frequency of offspring anxiety symptoms in a representative sample by self-report. Parents reported that 48.4% of the children were free of specific symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety disorders within the last 12 months, 39.2% showed low symptom load (1–3 symptoms) and 12.4% were moderately or severely strained (4–10 symptoms). Replicating previous studies, parental DSM-IV symptoms increased offspring risk for the same symptoms. In addition, parental everyday-life anxieties showed a positive relationship with offspring symptom severity. Demographic variables (female sex, low socioeconomic status and younger age) and parental anxiety markers explained 18% of variance in offspring symptom severity. The data are discussed in light of current models of familial transmission.
Highlights
Anxiety disorders (AD) are among the earliest mental disorders occurring across the lifespan, showing a median ageof-onset of 11 years [1]
Complementing the findings with respect to clinically relevant anxiety symptoms, we found that a range of parental everyday-life anxieties show a positive relationship to offspring symptom load
The current study shows that approximately 50% of children were free of anxiety symptomatology, 40% showed low symptom load and 12% were moderately or severely strained by current anxiety symptomatology within the last 12 months
Summary
Anxiety disorders (AD) are among the earliest mental disorders occurring across the lifespan, showing a median ageof-onset of 11 years [1]. Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and the most common mental disorder in children and youths (6.5%) worldwide [2]. A recent longitudinal study by Lieb et al following 3021 youths in Germany found that adolescents diagnosed with specific phobia have an increased risk of developing panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder as well as major depression, eating disorders and chronic pain [5]. 41% of adolescents with specific phobia and 35% with social phobia at age 14 were diagnosed with
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