The role of parental anxiety symptoms in the treatment of childhood social anxiety disorder

The study investigated the role of parental anxiety symptoms in treatment outcomes for children with a primary social anxiety disorder compared to children with other primary anxiety disorders. Participants were 152 children between 7 and 18 years and their parents (146 mothers, 123 fathers). Anxiety was assessed pretreatment, posttreatment, and at three months and one year follow ups. There were no baseline differences in parental anxiety symptoms between the two groups. In both groups parental anxiety symptoms decreased from pretreatment to posttreatment, and only mothers’ anxiety symptoms decreased further from posttreatment to the one year follow up. Parental anxiety symptoms before the treatment were not related to the being free of all anxiety diagnoses in the children at posttreatment. However, some indications were found for greater improvements during treatment when parents had higher anxiety symptoms before treatment. Changes in parental anxiety symptoms were found to be related to changes in child anxiety symptoms. This was not found for the total clinical severity of all inclusion anxiety disorders. This relation was visible independently in fathers or mothers, or in groups of children with a primary social anxiety disorder or with another primary anxiety disorder. In conclusion, we did not find clear indications that parental anxiety symptoms explain the differences in treatment outcomes for children with a primary social anxiety disorder compared to children with other primary anxiety disorders. More research with larger samples is needed to draw stronger conclusions. •Children with a primary social anxiety disorder improved less than children with another primary anxiety disorder during CBT.•Parental anxiety symptoms decreased when their children receive CBT for an anxiety disorder.•There was a relation between change in parental anxiety symptoms and change in children's anxiety symptoms during CBT.•Parental anxiety symptoms could not explain why children with a primary social anxiety disorder had worse outcomes after CBT.