Anxiety In Preschool Children Research Articles

A Study on the Implementation of Storytelling Therapy on the Level of Hospitalization Anxiety in Preschool Children in the Emergency Room of Kendari City Regional General Hospital

Kecemasan merupakan efek samping rawat inap yang dapat muncul pada usia anak yang terpapar rangsangan di lingkungan perawatan rumah sakit. Rawat inap adalah proses menerima perawatan dan perawatan di rumah sakit sampai kondisi anak membaik. Kecemasan pada anak yang mendapat perawatan di rumah sakit untuk pengobatan dapat memperpanjang terapi, memperburuk kecemasan, dan berdampak negatif pada kesehatan anak. Pengasuh dapat menggunakan terapi bercerita untuk membantu meningkatkan pemikiran anak dan mengalihkan pandangan mereka tentang stres ke lingkungan yang kurang menakutkan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk melihat pengaruh penerapan terapi bercerita terhadap tingkat kecemasan pada anak usia dini yang disebabkan oleh rawat inap. Pendekatan penelitian ini merupakan penerapan studi kasus dengan menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Bentuk desain yang digunakan adalah desain one-group pretest-posttest. Skala yang digunakan adalah SCAS (Spance Children's Anxiety Scale Preschool). Kecemasan rawat inap anak sebelum dan sesudah perawatan naratif dengan flashcard berbeda secara signifikan dan menunjukkan penurunan tingkat kecemasan setelah memberikan terapi mendongeng pada anak

Preschoolers and anxiety: The effect of parental characteristics.

Anxiety is a common phenomenon among children that can lead to adverse developmental outcomes. A challenging parent-child relationship and its characteristics may negatively impact the development of a child's internalizing problems. However, theoretical models on children's anxiety have not fully emphasized the contribution of parenting and environmental factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the possible correlations between parenting styles and other parental characteristics with children's anxiety. The sample consisted of 443 parents of preschool children who completed the Parenting Styles and Dimension Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5. The univariate analysis included differences between demographic groups, assessed with independent sample t-tests. Associations between demographic evidence and child anxiety were estimated using χ2 tests. Binomial logistic regression analysis assessed the most important parenting characteristics contributing to a child's anxiety. A total of 24.6% of the children had borderline or clinical symptoms of anxiety. Parents whose children were anxious were more permissive than parents of nonanxious children (p < 0.001). Mothers were more authoritative compared to fathers. In addition, permissive parenting style increased the probability of a child's anxiety and maternal permissive style emerged as a significant predictor of anxiety in preschoolers (p < 0.003). This study revealed that the permissive parenting style is associated with anxiety in preschool children. Furthermore, the maternal permissive style was identified as a predictor of anxiety. Future research may address its causal effect on anxiety and other behavioral problems, focusing on multiple perspective relationships and cultural dimensions.

Comparison of dexmedetomidine and a dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination for reducing dental anxiety in preschool children undergoing dental treatment under general anesthesia: A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDental anxiety is a widespread complication occurring in pediatric patients during dental visits and may lead to undesirable complications. Esketamine may be effective in anxiety. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the effect of premedication with a dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination compared with dexmedetomidine alone on dental anxiety in preschool children undergoing dental treatment under general anesthesia. MethodsThis is a prospective, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 84 patients were scheduled for elective outpatient dental caries treatment under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly premedicated with intranasal dexmedetomidine (group D) or intranasal dexmedetomidine-esketamine (group DS).The primary outcome was the level of dental anxiety assessed by the Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDAS) at 2 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes included level of dental anxiety at 1 day and 7 days after surgery, the incidence of dental anxiety at 2 h, 1 day, and 7 days after surgery, sedation onset time, overall success of sedation, acceptance of mask induction, postoperative pain intensity, incidence of emergence agitation in PACU, adverse reactions, HR, and SpO2 before premedication (baseline) and at 10, 20, and 30 min after the end of study drug delivery. ResultsThe dental anxiety in group DS was lower than that in group D at 2 h, 1 day, and 7 days postoperatively (P = 0.04, 0.004, and 0.006, respectively). The incidences of dental anxiety in group DS were lower than those in group D at 2 h (53 % vs 76 %, P = 0.03), 1 day (47 % vs 71 %, P = 0.04), and 7 days (44 % vs 71 %, P = 0.02) after surgery. Group DS had a higher success rate of sedation (P = 0.03) but showed a lower MAS score (P = 0.005) and smoother hemodynamics (P < 0.01) after drug administration than group D. Group DS showed a significantly lower incidence rate of emergence agitation (P = 0.03) and postoperative pain intensity (P = 0.006) than that in group D during the anesthesia recovery time. The occurrence of adverse reactions was similar in both groups (P > 0.05). LimitationsWe did not analyze and correct for the learning effect caused by repeated applications of the MCDAS and MCDAS scores on the 1 day after surgery were obtained by telephone follow-up. ConclusionsCompared to premedication with dexmedetomidine alone, premedication with intranasal dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine could significantly improve dental anxiety in preschool children undergoing dental treatment under general anesthesia.

A parent-report measure of children’s anxiety: psychometric properties of the Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) in a Chinese sample of preschool children

ObjectiveThe Macquarie Anxiety Behavioural Scale (MABS) is a newly developed scale to assess anxiety in children and teenagers. The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the MABS, as well as the measurement invariance across different age groups in a preschool-aged sample.MethodsA total of 1007 parents with children aged 3–6 years participated in the study. Internal consistency was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega and average inter-item correlation values. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to examine the five-factor model. Multi-group CFA was conducted to test the measurement equivalence across different age groups (3- and 4-year-olds and 5- and 6-year-olds). Convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity were assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients.ResultsInternal consistency for the MABS total score was good and that of the subscales was acceptable. The CFA results showed that the five-factor structure of the MABS was supported in preschoolers (e.g., CFI = 0.929, TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.050). In addition, scalar invariance of the MABS was supported across different age groups (e.g., ΔCFI = − 0.003, ΔTLI = 0, ΔRMSEA = 0). Furthermore, the MABS showed good convergent and divergent validity as well as criterion-related validity.ConclusionThe Chinese version of the MABS demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and appeared to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring anxiety in preschool children.

Effect of art painting on preschool children with from psychological anxiety the perspective of art psychology

BackgroundIn recent years, the psychological anxiety problem among preschool children has received widespread attention from parents, educators, and researchers. From learning pressure to social interaction with peers, these factors can all lead to the accumulation of psychological stress, resulting in psychological anxiety. Art painting is seen as a way to facilitate individual emotional expression and psychological adjustment, providing children with a stress-free environment where they can freely express their emotions and thoughts without worrying about being judged or misunderstood. The research aims to explore the impact of art painting on the psychological anxiety of contemporary preschool children from the perspective of art psychology.Subjects and Methods The study randomly divided 88 preschool children with psychological anxiety into an experimental group and a control group. The control group received routine intervention, while the experimental group received art painting from the perspective of art psychology on the basis of routine intervention. The study used the Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) to assess the level of psychological anxiety in preschool children.ResultsAfter the experiment, the psychological anxiety scores of the experimental group children were significantly lower than before (P&lt;0.05), and meanwhile significantly lower than the psychological anxiety scores of the control group students after the experiment (P&lt;0.05).ConclusionsFrom the perspective of art psychology, art painting has a positive and positive effect on alleviating psychological anxiety in preschool children, and can serve as an auxiliary means of intervention.AcknowledgementResearch results of the Teaching Reform Research project of Colleges and Universities in Hunan Province, (Hunan Jiaotong (2021) No. 298:HNJG-2021-0200).

Association between sleep change patterns and mental health among preschoolers: The mediating role of resilience

Sleep disturbance has been recognized as an important factor influencing mental health problems in preschool children. However, no longitudinal studies have investigated the association between sleep change patterns and mental health in preschoolers or the mediating role of resilience. Here, data were collected from 1595 preschool children in 26 kindergartens in four counties in Anhui Province, China, who were followed up (T2) 1 year apart based on baseline surveys (T1). The primary caregivers of the children were asked to complete a structured questionnaire through face-to-face interviews or by completing it themselves. Pearson's correlation and linear regression were used to analyze the relationships among sleep patterns, mental health, and resilience in preschoolers. A structural equation model was used for the mediation analysis. Four patterns of sleep change were identified: persistent-low pattern (1.7%), decreasing pattern (9.8%), increasing pattern (7.3%), and persistent-high pattern (81.3%). Compared to the persistent-low pattern, the increasing pattern and persistent-high pattern were associated with emotional behavioral problems (EBPs) and anxiety. Resilience played a fully mediating role in the relationship between increasing pattern, persistent-high pattern, and EBPs. Resilience partially mediated the effects of increasing and persistent-high pattern on anxiety. More attention should be paid to sleep problems in children with increasing and persistent-high sleep patterns. Resilience is important for understanding the mechanism underlying the correlation between sleep patterns, EBPs, and anxiety. Considering the EBPs and anxiety of preschool children, early intervention for resilience should be considered.

Penerapan Terapi Bermain Mewarnai Pada Anak Prasekolah Terhadap Kecemasan Akibat Hospitalisasi di RS PKU Muhammadiyah Karanganyar

Hospitalization is a form of stressor in children that lasts as long as the child is hospitalized, hospitalization becomes a crisis that must be faced by children. Feelings of anxiety are the impact of hospitalization experienced by pre-school children. This impact has the risk of interfering with child development and the healing process in children. To reduce children's anxiety, we need a media that can express anxiety, one of which is play therapy. Forms of games that are suitable for children aged 3-6 years are coloring pictures. The purpose of this application is to find out the results of applying play therapy to reducing anxiety due to hospitalization. The application method was carried out using a case study descriptive method to 3 respondents and the coloring play therapy was carried out once in 30 minutes. The results of the application that has been carried out are a decrease in anxiety due to hospitalization. The conclusion in this study is that coloring play therapy can be used as a technique to reduce feelings of anxiety in preschool children due to hospitalization.

Application Of Medical Play To Reduce The Level Of Hospitalization Anxiety In Preschool Children

Application Of Medical Play To Reduce The Level Of Hospitalization Anxiety In Preschool Children

Examination of preschool children's anxiety with a mediator model: the effect of mother's emotion regulation skills and child's emotion expression styles

ABSTRACT Aim The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between emotional regulation difficulties of mothers with preschool children and children's anxiety with a mediator model. Method The study, which is a cross-sectional survey study. ‘Mother–Child Descriptive Information Form', ‘Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ)', ‘Revised Preschool Anxiety Scale (RPAS)', ‘Child Emotion Expression Styles Questionnaire (CEEQ) – Maternal Form' were used to collect data. Results The path coefficients between total ERSQ points of mothers with child happy (β = 1.338; p = <0.001), sad (β = –0.582; p = 0.02), angry (β = –0.993; p = 0.001), and fear (β = –0.993; p<0.001) emotion points were found to be statistically significant (β = 1.338; p = <0.001). Path analysis was used to examine the effects of scales on each other. Conclusion As a result, it was determined that as mothers’ emotion regulation skills increased, the child's total anxiety level, the child's angry feeling, and the child's scared feeling decreased, and the child's sense of happiness increased.

The effect of active distraction compared to midazolam in preschool children in the perioperative setting: A randomized controlled trial

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study was to compare the effect of active distraction to midazolam as a non-pharmacological method of reducing preoperative anxiety in preschool children. A secondary purpose was to compare emergence delirium, sedation/agitation, and length of stay between groups. Design and methodsPreschool children (N = 99) scheduled for elective surgery participated in this 2-group randomized controlled trial: the active distraction (tablet) group (n = 52) had unlimited playtime with a tablet and the midazolam group (n = 47) were medicated approximately 10 min before mask induced anesthesia. Data were collected using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium scale, and Richmond Agitation Sedation Score. Length of stay (LOS) was measured in minutes from PACU admission to discharge. Wilcoxon rank sum, Pearson's chi square, and Fischer's exact tests were used in analysis. ResultsPreschool children (3–5 years old), predominantly male (61%) and White (85%) presented for ear, nose, throat, ophthalmology, urology, and general surgery at a pediatric surgical center within a large Midwestern hospital. There was no significant difference in anxiety, emergence delirium, or sedation/agitation scores between midazolam and tablet groups. Children assigned to the tablet group had shorter LOS (p = 0.021). ConclusionActive distraction with a tablet as an anxiolytic was as effective as midazolam for pre-school aged children with no side effects and reduced length of stay. Practice implicationsPreoperatively, non-pharmacological methods such as active distraction with a tablet should be considered for preschool children as an alternative to medication.

On the Application of Picture Book Reading Therapy to the Psychological Intervention of Single-Parent Children Aged 5-6

Emotional regulation has a critical influence on an individual’s mental health and personality. In the long run, negative coping styles will create antisocial personalities. In recent years, the data on single-parent families has increased significantly, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of single-parent children. Without positive guidance of adults, children are usually unable to get rid of the negative effects brought by single-parent families, let alone acquiring good emotional development. Therefore, given the age development characteristics of children aged 5-6 and the anxiety and loneliness behavior of single-parent children aged 5-6, this study selected some picture books that these children could understand as the therapy medium, and preliminarily proposed a reading plan. Based on the revised Spence (2001) Preschool Children Anxiety Questionnaire and the UCLA Loneliness Scale Questionnaire, the anxiety and loneliness scores of 20 children in the experimental group and the emotional scores of 20 children in the control group were continuously compared. Finally, a four-stage picture book reading therapy suitable for single-parent children aged 5-6 was established, its four stage tasks including anxiety and loneliness recognition, self-awareness building, anxiety and loneliness settlement and peer sharing”.

Assessing the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy on alleviation of anxiety in pre-school children: A randomized controlled trial

Objective & backgroundHuman-animal interactions are considered as being valuable and beneficial for the psychological health. Recently Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) has been included for client-therapist interaction. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy in alleviation of anxiety in pre-school children. MethodThe study was carried out as a randomized controlled trail with pre-test and post-test design and control group. The trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry with the registration id of ChiCTR2000034145. The study consisted of 33 anxious 5–7years old children (participated in a welfare anxiety screening plan held by Counseling Center, Tehran-Iran) between 2018 and 2019. The participants took part in the study voluntarily. The subjects were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (10 in each group). The experimental group was exposed to 8 sessions of animal therapy. The research instrument used in the present study was Spence Preschool Anxiety Scale (Parent Form) and the data were analyzed on SPSS 21 software. ResultsThe results showed that animal therapy had a significant effect on general anxiety after adjusting for post-test assessments (f = 32.49 and p = 0.001) with the effect equal to 0.70. In addition, the effect of animal therapy on anxiety of separation (f = 5.63, p = 0.03), generalized anxiety disorder (f = 8.56, p = 0.01), social phobia (f = 14.58, p = 0.002) and specific anxiety (f = 11.63, p = 0.005) was significant with effects equal to 0.30, 0.40, 0.53, and 0.47, respectively. The results also showed that the effect of animal therapy on obsession was not significant (p > 0.05). ConclusionTherefore, it can be concluded that Animal therapy is effective in alleviating anxiety in children. It supports for the inclusion of AAT in therapeutic practice with children having anxiety.

The influence of parental variables and child behavioral inhibition on social anxiety in preschool children: The moderator effects of gender

The influence of parental variables and child behavioral inhibition on social anxiety in preschool children: The moderator effects of gender

Art therapy as a method of correction of negative emotions at dental appointment

In this article, a study is made on the correction of the emotional sphere of children of primary school age. The presented modern correctional program of art therapy-neuro graphics, the objectives of which are the removal of internal constraints, the harmonization of the emotional state, the transformation of reality and modeling of the future, based on the methods of art therapy, aimed at reducing the level of anxiety in children. Neurographics doesn’t require artistic or visual art skills, so every child can participate in this work. Neurographics helps to reduce the anxiety of preschool children, helping to emotionally and personally cognize oneself and other people, promotes knowledge of the world around, helps to realize one’s abilities, the ability to become more active, relax, express one’s emotions and feelings, establish new trust levels of communication. The developed program aimed at reducing anxiety through neurographics, with longer corrective work, will lead to the fact that the level of anxiety manifestations in preschool children will decrease to a minimum.

An Evaluation of Mothers’ Feeding Attitudes and Anxiety in Preschool Children

An Evaluation of Mothers’ Feeding Attitudes and Anxiety in Preschool Children

Evaluating the Effects of a Supportive intervention Program on the Post-operative Pain and Anxiety in Preschool Children

Evaluating the Effects of a Supportive intervention Program on the Post-operative Pain and Anxiety in Preschool Children

Anxiety and harmful oral habits in preschool children during the 2020 first-wave COVID‑19 lockdown in Turkey.

Due to curfew and quarantine practices designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19), social isolation has tested the psychological limits of children. The authors evaluated parent-observed symptoms of anxiety in preschool children with harmful oral habits during the curfew period in Turkey. The authors prepared a questionnaire with Google Forms that was distributed through social media applications (e.g., WhatsApp) to 405 parents recruited via snowball sampling. To measure children's symptoms and levels of anxiety, the Spence Preschool Anxiety Scale (SPAS) was used. Harmful oral habits that might develop in children during the curfew were investigated. Separation anxiety and physical injury anxiety were reported by the parents more frequently than general anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also, the presence of tantrums (p = 0.010), crying attacks (p = 0.010) and aggression (p = 0.010) were reported by the parents in these children. It was observed that the habits of finger sucking (p = 0.010), nail biting (p = 0.040) and lip biting (p = 0.010) that were present before the curfew decreased significantly after the curfew. Children aged 3-7 years can develop anxiety about physical injuries and about being separated from their parents as well as tantrums and crying attacks. Their harmful oral habits (i.e., finger sucking, nail biting and lip biting) all decreased during the curfew period.

The Effect of Music-Moving Toys to Reduce Fear and Anxiety in Preschool Children Undergoing Intravenous Insertion in a Pediatric Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial

IntroductionIntravenous catheter insertion is a highly invasive medical procedure that causes fear and anxiety in children. This study aimed to analyze the effect of a toy (with music and movement) distraction method on fear and anxiety in children aged 4 to 6 years. MethodsThis experimental, randomized clinical trial used parallel trial design guided by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials checklist. Using simple randomization, eligible children (age 4-6; N = 60) were assigned to the intervention group (n = 30), who received the toy distraction method, or to the control group (n = 30), who received standard care. The Children’s Fear Scale was used to evaluate the fear levels, and Children’s State Anxiety Scale was used to evaluate anxiety levels. Physiological parameters (pulse, oxygen saturation) and crying time were monitored by the researcher as indicators of fear and anxiety. The chi-square test, repeated measures analysis of variance, Friedman test, t test, the Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test, and the intraclass correlation test were used for data analysis. ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in terms of fear and anxiety scores, physiological parameters, and crying time during the procedure between the children in the intervention and control group. DiscussionWe found that this method of toy distraction was not effective in reducing fear or anxiety during the intravenous catheter insertion procedure. Accordingly, we recommend that this distraction method be performed in different age groups and with larger samples in various painful and stressful practices in the future and that comparison be made with various distraction methods.

Development of the Teacher Report Form of Anxiety in Pre-school Children

This research was aimed to develop the Teacher Report Form of Anxiety in Pre-School children. A descriptive research was conducted with two study groups. The scale is based on teachers' assessment for preschoolers aged 3-6. During the development process of the form, the theoretical structure was examined and expert opinion was take for the prepared draft. The descriptive research model was used in the research. The research has two study groups. Within the scope of the research, there were 250 preschool teachers in the first group and 260 in the second group. The construct validity was determined as well based on AFA and DFA. The corrected item-total correlations and Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient were calculated in order to determine the reliability of the answers given to the scale items. The KMO and Barlett test have showed that the factor analysis is suitable for the data set. It was determined that the items in the scale has clarified 48% of the total variance. With the data acquired as a result of the analyzes, it was determined that the 21 items showed a one-dimensional structure. The Cronbach ‘s alpha coefficient for the scale was determined as 0.939. The corrected item-total correlation coefficients of the items in the final form of the scale vary between 0.483 and 0.744. As for the factor loading values of the items it differs between 0.38 and 0.41. Since the T value is found to be significant it showed that there were a significant relationships between the observed and latent variables. As a result of the calculations, a valid, reliable and useful measurement tool that can be used in the literature was developed, based on the teacher’s assessment it is hoped that the scale will fill the gap in this field.

Preoperative anxiety in preschool children: A randomized clinical trial comparing midazolam, clonidine, and dexmedetomidine.

Anxiety in pediatric patients may challenge perioperative anesthesiology management and worsen postoperative outcomes. Sedative drugs aimed to reducing anxiety are available with different pharmacologic profiles, and there is no consensus on their effect or the best option for preschool children. In this study, we aimed to compare the effect of three different premedications on anxiety before anesthesia induction in preschool children aged 2-6years scheduled for elective surgery. The secondary outcomes comprised distress during peripheral catheter (PVC) insertion, compliance at anesthesia induction, and level of sedation. In this double-blinded randomized clinical trial, we enrolled 90 participants aged 2-6years, who were scheduled for elective ear-, nose-and-throat surgery. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups: those who were administered 0.5mg/kg oral midazolam, 4µg/kg oral clonidine, or 2µg/kg intranasal dexmedetomidine. Anxiety, distress during PVC insertion, compliance with mask during preoxygenation, and sedation were measured using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, Behavioral Distress Scale, Induction Compliance Checklist, and Ramsay Sedation Scale, respectively. Six children who refused premedication were excluded, leaving 84 enrolled patients. At baseline, all groups had similar levels of preoperative anxiety and distress. During anesthesia preparation, anxiety was increased in the children who received clonidine and dexmedetomidine; however, it remained unaltered in the midazolam group. There were no differences in distress during PVC insertion or compliance at induction between the groups. The children in the clonidine and dexmedetomidine groups developed higher levels of sedation than those in the midazolam group. In preschool children, midazolam resulted in a more effective anxiolysis and less sedation compared to clonidine and dexmedetomidine.