Parents' verbal communication and childhood anxiety: a systematic review

Percy, R., Creswell, C., Garner, M., O'Brien, D. and Murray, L. (2016) Parents' verbal communication and childhood anxiety: a systematic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 19 (1). pp. 55-75. ISSN 1573-2827 doi: 10.1007/s10567-015-0198-2

Abstract/Summary

Parents’ verbal communication to their child, particularly the expression of fear-relevant information (e.g., attributions of threat to the environment), is considered to play a key role in children’s fears and anxiety. This review considers the extent to which parental verbal communication is associated with child anxiety by examining research that has employed objective observational methods. Using a systematic search strategy, we identified 15 studies that addressed this question. These studies provided some evidence that particular fear-relevant features of parental verbal communication are associated with child anxiety under certain conditions. However, the scope for drawing reliable, general conclusions was limited by extensive methodological variation between studies, particularly in terms of the features of parental verbal communication examined and the context in which communication took place, how child anxiety was measured, and inconsistent consideration of factors that may moderate the verbal communication–child anxiety relationship. We discuss ways in which future research can contribute to this developing evidence base and reduce further methodological inconsistency so as to inform interventions for children with anxiety problems.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/46745
Identification Number/DOI	10.1007/s10567-015-0198-2
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Development Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY)
Publisher	Springer
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