Resilience of adolescents diagnosed with anxiety and their parents in clinical sample

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety disorder is the most frequent psychiatric problem among children and adolescents. Research proved that resilience can be a protective factor in coping with psychological difficulties. Our research focuses on these aspects of resilience. Aims: We aimed to investigate the resilience and anxiety level of families with adolescents who were diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Method: The clinical sample included 40 adolescents who were diagnosed with anxiety disorders and who received ambulant treatment. (18 boys and 22 girls; age: M=13.37 years, SD=1.46). Members of the control group were recruited from schools and they were normally developing adolescents without any psychiatric diagnosis. (18 boys and 19 girls, age: M=13.7 years; SD=1.56) DASS-21, Ten items Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and self-made demographic sheet were used. Results: Regarding the resilience, a Significant difference was found between the clinical and the sample group both among the mothers and their children. However, in the case of fathers, no discrepancy was found. Our results suggest that there is a significant, moderate positive relationship between the resilience of the mother and their children. Nevertheless, similar mechanisms in the fathers’ case cannot be registered. In the control group, the fathers’ perception of their child’s resilience proved to be the strongest predictive factor (beta=0,495). On the contrary in the clinical group, the maternal perception was more accurate. (beta=0,06). Conclusions: Resilience can serve as a protective factor against anxiety. Our results can be useful for practitioners and draw attention to the importance of intrafamily mechanisms in coping with anxiety and mood disorders.