Parental changes after involvement in their anxious child's cognitive behavior therapy
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
Published on: January 17, 2025
Barbara Hoff Esbjørn1, Mikael Julius Sømhovd1, Sara Kerstine Nielsen1
1Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
Objective:
Specific parental behaviors and cognitions are associated with child anxiety. Studies informing us of the directionality of the associations are lacking. We investigated the effect of parental involvement in children's anxiety treatment on parental behaviors and cognitions.
Method:
Children (N=54, 7-12 years) and parents were randomly allocated to different treatment groups (involved, not involved). Observed behavior, self-reported behavior and cognitions were assessed separately for mothers and fathers at pre-, posttreatment and follow-up.
Results:
There were no differences over time for self-reported parental efficacy and observed negativity, but self-reported autonomy granting increased for both groups over time. Differential effects were found between groups for observed paternal over-involvement (fathers involved in treatment showed a more rapid decrease) and self-reported maternal autonomy-granting (non-involved mothers showed a greater increase).
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that child anxiety significantly influences parental behaviors and cognitions. Child therapy may successfully change the family system.
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