Background: The development of social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a complex aetiological pathway. Recent studies revealed that the verbal informational pathway influences children’s anxiety beliefs...Show moreBackground: The development of social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a complex aetiological pathway. Recent studies revealed that the verbal informational pathway influences children’s anxiety beliefs and behaviours towards novel animals. This study incorporated this to a social context by investigating the effect of parental verbal expression of threat/anxiety (versus safety) on the avoidance behaviour towards strangers in children. In addition, this study investigated if the temperamental construct behavioural inhibition (BI) moderated this effect. Methods: A community sample of 71 children aged between 9-to-14 participated with their primary caregiver by visiting the lab. Both parents had to fill in online questionnaires about their personal anxiety levels and child’s anxiety and temperamental levels. Whilst the child filled in questionnaires about their anxiety and temperamental levels. During the lab visit the caregiver provided verbal threat/anxiety (versus safety) information to their child about two strangers that would watch their child perform social tasks. The effect of this verbal manipulation was tested by observing the child’s avoidance behaviour during these social tasks. Results: The child’s avoidance behaviour did not significantly differ during the social tasks between the stranger paired with the threat/anxiety versus safe condition. However, children who reported more BI sensitivity showed more avoidance behaviour independent of the verbal manipulation. Conclusions: The type of verbal information transmitted by parents did not influence the child’s avoidance behaviour towards strangers. In addition, this study confirmed the existing evidence that BI is a risk factor for developing SAD behaviour.Show less
Background: Parental verbal threat information is considered to play an important role in the development of childhood anxiety. Attentional biases induced by verbal threat information may increase...Show moreBackground: Parental verbal threat information is considered to play an important role in the development of childhood anxiety. Attentional biases induced by verbal threat information may increase the risk of developing social anxiety disorder. This study aims to investigate the effect of parental verbal threat information about strangers on children’s attention to these strangers. In addition, we explored the potential moderating role of child social anxiety. Method: The sample consisted of 75 9-to-14-year-old children (M= 11.51 years; 39 girls) and their primary caregivers from the community. The children filled in a questionnaire to measure their social anxiety levels. In the lab, the children had to give two speeches about shyness and confidence in front of two different strangers. Before the social performance, the caregiver verbally communicated threat or safety information about the two strangers. The duration of the looks measured the child’s attention to each stranger during the social performance. Results: The parental verbal information did not influence the child’s attention to the stranger during the social performance. No significant moderation of this effect by the child’s social anxiety was observed. Conclusions: Parental verbal threat information about strangers does not influence children’s attention to these strangers. In addition, child social anxiety does not affect the effect of parental verbal information on children’s attention to strangers.Show less
This study investigated whether parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is associated with children’s fear of the COVID-19. Further, the study examined whether the association is mediated by parents’ verbal...Show moreThis study investigated whether parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is associated with children’s fear of the COVID-19. Further, the study examined whether the association is mediated by parents’ verbal threat information. In addition, it was studied which sources of information about the COVID-19 contribute to children’s fear of the COVID-19. In this online study participated 90 parent-child dyads (child mean age M = 13.22, parent mean age M = 46.49). The present study has a cross-sectional correlational design. The participants completed online self-reported questionnaires. The results of the study showed that parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is positively linked to children’s fear of the COVID-19. Parents’ fear of the COVID-19 is positively associated with parents’ verbal threat information. Also, parents’ verbal threat information is positively related to children’s fear of the COVID-19. The link between parents’ and children’s fear of the COVID-19 is partially mediated by parents’ verbal threat information. Further, the results showed that various sources of information accounted for 39% of the variance in the children’s fear of the COVID-19. Parents, television and friends are important contributing sources of information to the children’s fear of the COVID-19. The results support Rachman’s information pathway in explaining fear transmission from parents their offspring in the context of the COVID-19. The results are also in line with the previous research about parents’ threat information mediation between parents’ and children’s fear of the swine flu.Show less
