The Other Side of the Dyad: The Early Parent-Child Relationship and Developmental Antecedents of Shyness

• In Event: 3-160 - Developmental Models of Shyness: Origins, Maintenance, and Outcomes

Integrative Statement

Enhanced parental anxiety symptoms are linked to early developmental precursors of temperamental shyness in offspring, including behavioral inhibition, fearfulness, and negative affect (Connell & Goodman, 2002). However, trajectories by which early temperamental risk leads to disorder in children are not well understood. One limitation of traditional work has been a singular focus on parent-to-child transmission of risk for anxiety problems. The idea that the effects of parent-child interactions are bidirectional is rooted in classic developmental theory (Bell, 1968) and has been reiterated in the context of risk for disorder (Cicchetti & Cohen, 2006); however, unidirectional, parent-to-child models of risk for anxiety-related problems continue to be the primary focus of empirical work. Most frequently, the possibility that child-based characteristics influence parent outcomes is ignored. In an effort to advance research examining bidirectional associations between parent behavior and child development, this talk will review three studies that implicate child-based effects on parent symptoms and behaviors.

In the first study, results were consistent with traditional models in that greater numbers of anxiety symptoms in parents predicted greater infant negative affect, a developmental precursor to children’s shyness (Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2009), 9 months later. However, consistent with a bidirectional model, greater negative affect in infants at 9 months of age also predicted greater numbers of anxiety symptoms in mothers and fathers 18 months later. These results support the hypothesis that associations between anxiety risk in parents and children are bidirectional.

In the second study, results again were consistent with traditional models of parent behavior, whereby greater numbers of anxiety symptoms in mothers predicted greater numbers of child-focused parenting behaviors during infancy. However, consistent with the notion of bidirectional effects, greater shyness in infants at age 9 months predicted greater numbers of child-centered parenting behaviors in mothers but not in fathers. These results provide preliminary evidence that parenting behaviors may be one mechanism by which child characteristics (i.e., temperamental shyness) influence parent behaviors in the early parent-child dyad.

Finally, the third study presents one possible biological pathway by which child-based characteristics may influence parent behaviors that ultimately compound early levels of risk for anxiety problems in young children. Specifically, toddlers who showed high levels of negative affect at age 2 showed greater preschool amplitudes of a neural measure of performance monitoring, which is enhanced in anxious adults, if they also experienced harsh parenting behaviors. Importantly, children’s negativity and harsh parenting behaviors were also moderately correlated. Thus, it is possible that the temperamental antecedents of shyness (e.g., negative affect) in young children evokes harsh parenting behaviors which alter biological pathways and enhance overall risk for anxiety problems in young children.

Results from this work will be discussed in the framework of transactional pathways of risk for anxiety problem in early parent child dyads. Transactional models will consider biological and behavioral mechanisms by which risk for the development of the temperamental shyness may be transmitted between parents and young children.

Authors

• Rebecca Brooker, Texas A&M
  Presenting Author

• Tristin Nyman, Texas A&M University
  Non-Presenting Author