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Published on: September 19, 2019
The association between parent worry and young children's social-emotional functioning
Carol Cohen Weitzman1, Diana Edmonds, Judith Davagnino
1Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. carol.weitzman@yale.edu
Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics : JDBP
|September 10, 2011
Summary
Parental worry can help identify young children with significant social-emotional problems. However, it is not sensitive enough to detect all at-risk children, indicating its limitations as a universal screening tool.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Behavioral health problems affect up to 24% of young children.
- Screening for these issues in primary care is underutilized.
- There is a need for brief, cost-effective identification methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the association between parental worry and social-emotional problems in young children.
- To determine if parental worry can serve as a screening tool for behavioral and developmental concerns.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study surveyed 378 mothers of underserved children aged 12-48 months.
- The Brief Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment (BITS) was used to identify clinically significant (CS) and at-risk (AR) social-emotional problems.
- Parents reported their worry about their child's behavior and development on a 3-item scale.
Main Results:
- 42.1% of children exhibited at-risk (AR) or clinically significant (CS) problems.
- Parental worry was significantly associated with AR or CS problems.
- Worry effectively distinguished CS problems but not AR problems from the normal range.
Conclusions:
- Parental worry may supplement developmental surveillance for identifying children with significant social-emotional/behavioral issues.
- Parental worry alone is insufficient as a screening method for all young children with social-emotional problems.
- The effectiveness of worry as a screening tool varied by ethnicity and educational attainment.
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