Tests of alternative hypotheses explaining the association between parental autonomy granting and child anxiety in a longitudinal twin sample

• In Event: Longitudinal Examinations of Biological and Social Contextual Factors: Predictions to Adolescent Anxiety and Depression

Abstract

Autonomy granting by parents (e.g., soliciting children’s input on decisions and encouraging them to form independent opinions) may be an important influence on child development, including psychological wellbeing. Although there appears to be an established association between a lack of parental autonomy granting and child anxiety (Silk et al., 2008; Benoit Allen et al., 2015), there are multiple explanations for this association. A lack of parental autonomy granting can contribute to development of anxiety symptoms (Silk et al., 2008; McLeod et al., 2007), while child anxiety may also elicit more controlling parenting behaviors (Ayoub et al., 2019). The present study utilized a longitudinal twin design to test two alternative hypotheses explaining the negative association between child anxiety and parental autonomy granting: 1) lack of parental autonomy granting leads to anxiety disorders in children, and 2) behavioral inhibition in toddlerhood can influence parenting style and likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder. The sample included 373 same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs (380 girls and 366 boys in total). A hierarchical latent behavioral inhibition factor fit the data well, with loadings on observational and parent rating measures of behavioral inhibition when twins were 14, 20, and 24, and 36 months old. Autonomy granting was measured with a mean composite score of six items from the Dibble & Cohen Parent Report (Dibble & Cohen, 1974) identified through a confirmatory factor analysis. Twins self-reported on symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adolescence (mean age of 17). We tested whether lack of parental autonomy granting is associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adolescence, after accounting for covariance explained by toddlerhood behavioral inhibition, a strong predictor of anxiety disorders. We used multivariate phenotypic Cholesky decompositions to estimate common and unique influences on toddler behavioral inhibition, parental autonomy granting, and adolescent GAD symptoms. Although toddlerhood behavioral inhibition was associated with later anxiety in boys, it was not associated with later parental autonomy granting in either gender, suggesting evidence against the second hypothesis. Preliminary results suggested different patterns of results in boys and girls in regard to the first hypothesis. Specifically, lack of parental autonomy granting was associated with adolescent anxiety in girls, but not in boys, after accounting for early childhood behavioral inhibition. Additional analyses and corresponding results will be presented.

Authors

• Maya Rieselbach, University of Colorado Boulder
  Presenting Author

• Fatim Al Majid

• Shelley A Gresko, University of Colorado Boulder

• Elisa Fumika Stern, University of Colorado Boulder

• Robin Corley, University of Colorado, Boulder

• John Hewitt, University of Colorado, Boulder

• Soo Rhee, University of Colorado Boulder