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Cited by 368Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

The development of anxiety disorders in childhood: an integrative review

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Murray, L., Creswell, C., Cooper, P. J.·2009·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291709005157
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Abstract

We present an integrative review of the development of child anxiety, drawing on a number of strands of research. Family aggregation and genetic studies indicate raised vulnerability to anxiety in offspring of adults with the disorder (e.g. the temperamental style of behavioural inhibition, or information processing biases). Environmental factors are also important; these include adverse life events and exposure to negative information or modelling. Parents are likely to be key, although not unique, sources of such influences, particularly if they are anxious themselves. Some parenting behaviours associated with child anxiety, such as overprotection, may be elicited by child characteristics, especially in the context of parental anxiety, and these may serve to maintain child disorder. Emerging evidence emphasizes the importance of taking the nature of child and parental anxiety into account, of constructing assessments and interventions that are both disorder specific, and of considering bidirectional influences.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291709005157

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  • Overinvolved/controlling parenting and low parental warmth are associated with the development and course of anxiety symptoms and phobias, including greater distress and avoidance behaviours in children.

    “Indeed, overinvolved/controlling parenting and low parental warmth are associated with the development and course of anxiety symptoms and phobias, including greater distress and avoidance behaviours in children (Kane et al., 2015; Murray et al., 2009; Ollendick & Horsch, 2007).”

    From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Murray et al., 2009

    In “Other parental influences: warmth and control” (page unavailable), the review links parental overcontrol to child anxiety and says it may reinforce avoidance of challenges. But it describes the evidence for an association with low parental warmth as inconsistent; the cited passages also do not establish greater distress or the course of phobias. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • This study extends upon the current literature by considering and comparing the combinations of pathways, including direct and indirect combined and both indirect pathways combined, which are hypothesised to occur naturally during daily interactions; including all reported phobia subtypes; and addressing some of the methodological limitations of previous research in this area (i.e. reducing memory

    “This study extends upon the current literature by considering and comparing the combinations of pathways, including direct and indirect combined and both indirect pathways combined, which are hypothesised to occur naturally during daily interactions (King et al., 1998; Murray et al., 2009); including all reported phobia subtypes; and addressing some of the methodological limitations of previous re”

    From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Murray et al., 2009

    The ‘Modelling and information transfer’ section says the two indirect pathways—observation and threat information—are likely to overlap in naturally occurring social interactions. It does not specifically say that direct experience combines with an indirect pathway during daily interactions. The claims about the citing study’s scope and methods are its own, not attributed to Murray et al. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • There may be a stronger familial transmission of parent to child vulnerability within this subsample, whereby anxious parents are communicating more threat related information and modelling more avoidance, as is seen in the familial transmission of anxiety more generally.

    “As such, there may be a stronger familial transmission of parent to child vulnerability within this subsample, whereby anxious parents are communicating more threat related information and modelling more avoidance, as is seen in the familial transmission of anxiety more generally (Murray et al., 2009).”

    From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Murray et al., 2009

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  • These findings may contribute to wider research contemplating the direction of effects between parenting styles and childhood anxiety, whether parenting practices arise from parents' own anxieties, child symptoms, or the interaction of both.

    “These fi ndings may contribute to wider research contemplating the direction of effects between parenting styles and childhood anxiety, whether parenting practices arise from parents ' own anxieties, child symptoms, or the interaction of both (Murray et al., 2009).”

    From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Murray et al., 2009

  • Taken together with wider previous research linking parental overcontrol/overinvolvement with anxious children, these findings indicate that parenting styles specifically may be less implicated in the development of phobias in very young children, and more implicated in their maintenance.

    “Taken together with wider previous research linking parental overcontrol/overinvolvement with anxious children (Murray et al., 2009), these fi ndings indicate that parenting styles speci fi cally may be less implicated in the development of phobias in very young children, and more implicated in their maintenance.”

    From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Murray et al., 2009

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. T. H. Ollendick and J. S. March), pp. 61-91. Oxford University Press : New York.
  2. Creswell C (2004). The Development of Anxious Cognitions in Children. Doctoral dissertation, University College London, UK.
  3. R. G. Heimberg, C. L. Turk and D. S. Mennin), pp. 51-74. Guilford Press : New York.
  4. Murray L, DeRosnay M, Pearson J, Bergeron C, Schofield L, Royal-Lawson M, Cooper PJ (2008). Intergenerational transmission of maternal social anxiety : the role of the social referencing process. Child Development 79, 1049-1064.

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Authors
Murray, L., Creswell, C., & Cooper, P. J.
Affiliations
University of Reading (GB)
Corresponding author
Murray, L.
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2009-02-12
Volume
39
Issue
9
Pages
1413-1423
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291709005157
OpenAlex
W2090369782
Cited by
367
References
122
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 17
FWCI
1.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • CentAUR (University of Reading) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Keywords
childhood anxiety disorders, familial aggregation, genetic susceptibility, behavioral inhibition, information processing biases, life events, parental anxiety, parenting behaviour, overprotection, assessment and intervention
MeSH terms
Adult, Animals, Anxiety Disorders, Arousal, Child, Disease Models, Animal, Epistasis, Genetic, Humans, Life Change Events, Macaca mulatta, Models, Psychological, Phenotype, Risk Factors, Social Environment, Parenting, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins

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