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How Anxious are German Preschool Children?
Daniela Ehrenberg1, Arnold Lohaus2, Kerstin Konrad3
1Department of Psychology, Institute of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Assessment, University of Braunschweig, Humboldtstraße 33, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany. d.ehrenberg@tu-braunschweig.de.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|May 9, 2021
Summary
Early assessment of childhood anxiety is crucial. This study found foster care children showed more obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and less social anxiety, highlighting specific early disturbances.
Area of Science:
- Child psychology
- Developmental psychopathology
- Clinical child psychology
Background:
- Excessive fear is an early form of psychopathology with potential negative developmental outcomes.
- Systematic assessment of early-onset excessive fears in children is vital for prevention.
- The Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) is a tool for assessing anxiety in young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the frequency and structure of anxiety symptoms in preschool-aged children in Germany.
- To compare anxiety symptom profiles between children raised in biological families and those in foster care.
- To identify specific anxiety patterns in a high-risk sample.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) for assessment.
- Sample included 489 children from biological families and 88 from foster care in Germany.
- Anxiety symptoms were analyzed for frequency, structure, and correlation.
Main Results:
- Anxiety symptoms clustered into five factors: generalized anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), physical injury fear, and separation anxiety.
- German parents reported anxiety less often compared to international data.
- Foster care children showed higher rates of OCD and lower rates of social anxiety.
Conclusions:
- Anxiety symptom clusters identified in German preschoolers align with international findings.
- Foster care children exhibit distinct early anxiety disturbances, specifically in OCD and social anxiety.
- Early identification and intervention for anxiety in foster care children are warranted.
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