TY - JOUR
T1 - The relation between cognitive development and anxiety phenomena in children
AU - Broeren, Suzanne
AU - Muris, Peter
PY - 2009/10
Y1 - 2009/10
N2 - We examined the relation between cognitive development and fear, anxiety, and behavioral inhibition in a non-clinical sample of 226 Dutch children aged 4-9 years. To assess cognitive development, children were tested with Piagetian conservation tasks and a Theory-of-Mind (TOM) test. Fears were measured by means of a self-report scale completed by the children, while anxiety symptoms and behavioral inhibition were indexed by rating scales that were filled out by parents. Significant age trends were observed for some anxiety phenomena. For example, younger children displayed higher fear scores, whereas older children exhibited higher levels of generalized anxiety. Most importantly, results of regression analyses (in which we controlled for age) indicated that cognitive development, and in particular TOM ability, made a unique and significant contribution to various domains of behavioral inhibition. In all cases, higher levels of TOM were associated with lower levels of behavioral inhibition. In general, percentages of explained variance were rather small (i.e., <6%), indicating that the role of cognitive development in various anxiety phenomena is limited.
AB - We examined the relation between cognitive development and fear, anxiety, and behavioral inhibition in a non-clinical sample of 226 Dutch children aged 4-9 years. To assess cognitive development, children were tested with Piagetian conservation tasks and a Theory-of-Mind (TOM) test. Fears were measured by means of a self-report scale completed by the children, while anxiety symptoms and behavioral inhibition were indexed by rating scales that were filled out by parents. Significant age trends were observed for some anxiety phenomena. For example, younger children displayed higher fear scores, whereas older children exhibited higher levels of generalized anxiety. Most importantly, results of regression analyses (in which we controlled for age) indicated that cognitive development, and in particular TOM ability, made a unique and significant contribution to various domains of behavioral inhibition. In all cases, higher levels of TOM were associated with lower levels of behavioral inhibition. In general, percentages of explained variance were rather small (i.e., <6%), indicating that the role of cognitive development in various anxiety phenomena is limited.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Behavioral inhibition
KW - Children
KW - Cognitive development
KW - Developmental patterns
KW - Fear
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70350619494&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10826-009-9276-8
DO - 10.1007/s10826-009-9276-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 19855850
AN - SCOPUS:70350619494
VL - 18
SP - 702
EP - 709
JO - Journal of Child and Family Studies
JF - Journal of Child and Family Studies
SN - 1062-1024
IS - 6
ER -