Cited by 64Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentMental Health Treatment and AccessAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Perceived Family Impact of Preschool Anxiety Disorders

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Towe-Goodman, Nissa R., Franz, Lauren, Copeland, William, Angold, Adrian, Egger, Helen·2014·Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective We examined the perceived impact of child anxiety disorders on family functioning, because such impact is a key predictor of mental health service receipt. In addition, we examined the relative impact of preschool anxiety compared to that of other early childhood disorders, and whether this impact persisted after accounting for the effects of comorbidity, or varied by child age and sex.Method Drawing from a pediatric primary-care clinic and oversampling for children at risk for anxiety, 917 parents of preschoolers (aged 2-5 years) completed a diagnostic interview and reported on child psychiatric symptom impact on family finances, relationships, activities, and well-being.Results After accounting for comorbid disorders, families of children with anxiety were 3.5 times more likely to report a negative impact of their child's behavior on the family relative to nondisordered children. Generalized and separation anxiety had an impact on family functioning similar to that of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive disorders. There was a significant family impact for girls with social phobia, whereas there was no impact for boys.Conclusions Preschool anxiety has a significant, unique impact on family functioning, particularly parental adjustment, highlighting the family impairment linked with early anxiety, and the need for further research on barriers to care for these disorders.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.12.017

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  • In pre-school aged children, SPs are associated with significant impairments across most domains of life, including difficulties with education, family, social, and peer relationships.

    “In pre-school aged children, SPs are associated with signi fi cant impairments across most domains of life, including, dif fi culties with education, family, social, and peer relationships (Egger & Angold, 2006; Rifkin et al., 2016; Towe-Goodman et al., 2014).”

    From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Towe-Goodman et al., 2014

    The Results and Discussion (page numbers unavailable) report a significant perceived family impact of social phobia for preschool girls, but not boys. The study measures effects on family functioning, including activities and relationships; it does not establish significant impairment across most domains of the child’s life, including education and peer relationships. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Towe-Goodman, N. R., Franz, L., Copeland, W., Angold, A., & Egger, H.
Affiliations
Duke Medical Center (US)
Venue
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2014-04
Volume
53
Issue
4
Pages
437-446
ISSN
0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2040130525
Cited by
64
References
34
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1
FWCI
3.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Autism Speaks
  • Brain Research Foundation
  • National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Gillings School of Public Health
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH-075766, R01MH075766, RO1‐MH‐075766)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA011301)
  • Fogarty International Center (R25TW009337)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32-HD)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32HD007376)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
family functioning, parental adjustment, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, comorbidities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, disruptive behavior disorders, barriers to mental health care, sex differences, early childhood mental health
MeSH terms
Anxiety Disorders, Child, Preschool, Family, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Factors, Cost of Illness

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