Worry, beliefs about worry and problem solving in young children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Childhood worry is prevalent, yet the factors contributing to pathological worry remain unclear.
• Existing theories of adult worry, such as problem-solving and metacognitive models, offer potential frameworks for understanding childhood worry.
• Investigating these models in children can illuminate pathways to pathological worry development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between children's worry levels and their social problem-solving skills (solution generation and confidence).
• To explore children's beliefs about worry (positive and negative) and their relationship with worry, anxiety, and age.
• To compare findings in children with existing adult worry models.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 57 children aged 6-10 years participated.
• Children responded to open-ended social problem-solving scenarios.
• Measures of worry, anxiety, problem-solving confidence, and beliefs about worry were administered.

Main Results:

• Higher worry and anxiety in children correlated with the use of avoidant solutions for social problems.
• Low problem-solving confidence was significantly associated with high levels of worry.
• Children reported positive and negative beliefs about worry, but these were not linked to age, gender, anxiety, or worry levels.

Conclusions:

• Children's worry is linked to problem-solving deficits, similar to adults.
• Unlike adults, children's beliefs about worry do not appear to be associated with their current worry or anxiety levels.
• Developmental factors or measurement limitations may explain the divergence from adult models regarding beliefs about worry.