Parenting Characteristics Associated with Anxiety and Depression: A Multivariate Approach.

Recent reports on the prevalence and course of internalizing disorders in youth underscore the need for further research to understand their etiology and treatment. Although transient experiences of fear, worry, and anxiety characterize typical development, a number of children and adolescents experience severe symptoms that lead to impairment in daily functioning (Albano, Chorpita, & Barlow, 2003). Approximately 20% of children and adolescents are affected by pediatric anxiety disorders at some point in their development and symptoms may persist into adulthood (Vasa & Pine, 2004). The prevalence of unipolar depression among children and adolescents has been reported to be 5% and 10 to 15% of youth experience symptoms of depression before adulthood (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1999). Children and adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder have a 72% cumulative risk of a new episode within five years (Kovacs et al., 1984). Given these facts, it is important to understand the etiology of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents so that effective interventions can be implemented. Research regarding the etiology of depression and anxiety is scarce. This is particularly the case for psychosocial factors that may be associated with later diagnoses of mood and anxiety disorders. Although there has been an increase in treatment outcome research for youth with internalizing problems, a better understanding of the etiology of these concerns could facilitate the development of comprehensive interventions. The scientific community has widely accepted the notion that both biological predispositions and environmental variables are likely related to the emergence of anxiety and depression (DHHS, 1999). Environmental factors that have been identified as potential contributors to depression and anxiety include acute and chronic stressors, modeling, specific conditioning episodes, and childrearing patterns (Morris & March, 2004; Rapee, 1997; Wood, McLeod, Sigman, Hwang, & Chu, 2003). Childrearing factors that have been examined in previous studies include parenting style, perceived attachment, encouragement of family sociability, and parental concern with others' opinions. Parental care, responsiveness, and warmth constitute one dimension of parenting style that has been evaluated. Another dimension of parenting style focuses on parental control and protection (Wood et al., 2003). With regard to social anxiety, retrospective studies have found that persons with social phobia recall their parents as lacking in emotional warmth and being rejecting and overprotective (Arrindell, Emmelkamp, Monsma, & Brilman, 1983; Arrindell, et al., 1989). Associations between parenting style and trait anxiety and depression also have been documented. Specifically, people who reported high levels of trait anxiety and depression perceived that their mothers provided them with low levels of care and were overprotective (Parker, 1979; Parker, 1981; Parker, 1990). With regard to paternal variables, Parker (1979) found that paternal characteristics were not significant predictors of depression and anxiety. However, a subsequent study found that persons with "anxiety neurosis" remembered their fathers as less caring and more overprotective than participants in a control group (Parker, 1981). Parker (1981) described people with anxiety neurosis as having global symptoms, such as fear, poor concentration, and irritability. The association between offspring adjustment and parent-child relationship quality also has been investigated. Parent-child relationship quality is sometimes referred to as attachment. Dimensions of attachment evaluated in previous studies include trust in the relationship, alienation from the parent figure, parent as a source of support, and parent as facilitator of independence (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987; Kenny, 1987). …