Parenting Behaviors and Anxious Self-Talk in Youth and Parents

The present study examined the association between parental anxious self-talk, parenting behaviors, and youth anxious self-talk. Parents and youth ages 7 to 14 (M = 10.17; N = 208; 53% male) seeking treatment for anxiety were evaluated for anxiety symptoms, youth anxious self-talk, parental anxious self-talk, and youth-perceived parenting behavior. Youth and parental anxious self-talk were assessed by both child and parent self-reports; youth-perceived parenting behaviors were assessed by youth-reports. Parenting behaviors included separate ratings of paternal and maternal (a) acceptance, (b) psychological control, and (c) firm/behavioral control. Correlational analyses revealed that maternal anxious self-talk, but not paternal anxious self-talk, was significantly associated with youth's anxious self-talk. Maternal anxious self-talk had an inverse association with youth-perceived maternal acceptance, but was not associated with youth-perceived maternal psychological or behavioral control. Higher youth-perceived maternal acceptance was significantly associated with lower youth anxious self-talk. Youth-perceived maternal acceptance partially mediated the association between mother's anxious self-talk and youth's anxious self-talk. However, this mediation effect disappeared when taking into account youth depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in relation to clinical implications and future directions in research.