Parental Effects on Social Fears: Examining Verbal Communication and Anxiety in  Children’s Heart Rate Responses

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a prevalent anxiety disorder with significant impacts on quality of life, often emerging in early adolescence. Previous research highlights the critical role of verbal learning in the acquisition of social anxiety. However, gaps remain in understanding how parental verbal cues influence physiological fear responses, particularly in high-stakes social situations central to SAD. This study addressed these gaps by investigating the impact of parental verbal threat versus safety information on children’s heart rate (HR) during a social performance task. Additionally, it examined whether parental social anxiety moderates this relationship. The current community sample consisted of 77 children (10–14 years old) and their primary caregivers. Parental verbal communication was manipulated as threatening versus safe verbal information about strangers. The results revealed no significant effect of verbal information condition on children’s HR. Moderation of...Show moreSocial Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a prevalent anxiety disorder with significant impacts on quality of life, often emerging in early adolescence. Previous research highlights the critical role of verbal learning in the acquisition of social anxiety. However, gaps remain in understanding how parental verbal cues influence physiological fear responses, particularly in high-stakes social situations central to SAD. This study addressed these gaps by investigating the impact of parental verbal threat versus safety information on children’s heart rate (HR) during a social performance task. Additionally, it examined whether parental social anxiety moderates this relationship. The current community sample consisted of 77 children (10–14 years old) and their primary caregivers. Parental verbal communication was manipulated as threatening versus safe verbal information about strangers. The results revealed no significant effect of verbal information condition on children’s HR. Moderation of this effect by parental social anxiety was also not significant. These findings suggest that the verbal pathway may have limited influence on social fear transmission within community samples. This study highlights the complexity of social fears and the potential limitations of the verbal pathway in fear internalization. Conclusively, this study adds to the understanding of the processes in social anxiety acquisition and implies the need for further, more nuanced research to inform interventions.Show less

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Parental Effects on Social Fears: Examining Verbal Communication and Anxiety in Children’s Heart Rate Responses