Abstract
Many studies have reported that anxious children experience more negative life events than controls. However, studies have not yet addressed the possibility that this difference may be due to comorbidity with non-anxiety disorders. Furthermore, presence of psychopathology may also lead children to act in ways that increases frequency of negative life events and decreases the frequency of positive life events. Mother and child-report versions of a questionnaire measure of life events (CASE) assessed life events in the past 12 months in anxiety-disordered children (n = 198), and controls (n = 88). Mother reports indicated that anxious children experienced more negative and fewer positive behavior-dependent events than control children. Child reports showed a similar pattern, however significant differences were only present between anxious and control groups on the number of negative behavior-dependent events. Results indicated that anxious-control differences remain irrespective of comorbidity with non-anxiety disorders. However, the highest rates of negative life events were present in children with a comorbid disorder. Crown
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 511-518 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Anxiety Disorders |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 28 Oct 2008 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2009 |
Funding
We thank Alan Taylor from the Psychology Department, Macquarie University for his assistance with statistical analyses. This study was conducted as part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation and partly supported by funding from the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund. Jennifer Allen is now at the Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland. Appendix A Events most likely dependent on child’s behavior : Won a prize, award, contest New boyfriend or girlfriend Parent had to see child’s school principal Big fight or argument with someone in family Success in an important test or exam Break up with boyfriend or girlfriend Big argument with someone special (who is not in child’s family) New special friend Involved in a fight Poor performance in an important test or exam Class monitor, prefect or school captain Seriously told off or punished by a teacher New hobby, sport, activity Failure of a grade Events most likely independent of child’s behavior: Moved house Big family fight or argument (not including child) Parent started new job Parent lost job Parent had a baby or is expecting a baby Death of family member Family member really sick or injured Someone special to child moved away Someone came to live with family Saw something bad happen (e.g., car accident) Parent split up with partner Mother married, engaged, or began seeing someone Father married, engaged, or began seeing someone Child’s pet died, got sick, lost or injured Someone broke into child’s home Someone in family left home Death of someone special Someone special really sick or injured (who is not in child’s family) Parent stayed away from home overnight (e.g., hospital, holiday) Special holiday
Keywords
- Child anxiety
- Comorbidity
- Independence
- Negative life events
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
