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Different Trajectories, Stable Links: Parental Worry and Child Internalizing Symptoms Over Time
Shannon Taflinger1, Marcus Eisentraut2
1University of Cologne, Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, Cologne, Germany. Shannon.taflinger@wiso.uni-koeln.de.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
|August 22, 2025
Summary
Parental worry and child internalizing symptoms are linked at the start but do not influence each other over time. Both parental worry and child symptoms tend to decrease during childhood.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
- Family Studies
Background:
- General parental anxiety's link to child mental health is known.
- Parental worry specifically about children is understudied.
- Internalizing symptoms in children are a significant concern.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal relationship between parental worry and child internalizing symptoms.
- To examine if parental worry influences child symptom trajectories or vice versa.
- To understand the developmental interplay between parental concern and child emotional well-being.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal data from waves 3-13 (2010-2020) of the German Family Panel (pairfam).
- Parental worry and child internalizing symptoms assessed biennially.
- Sample included 1250 children (ages 8-15) and their parents in Germany.
Main Results:
- Initial levels of parental worry and child internalizing symptoms (ages 8-9) were correlated.
- Both parental worry and child internalizing symptoms showed stability over time.
- Trajectories of parental worry and child symptoms were not related; no bidirectional influence was found.
Conclusions:
- Parental worry and child internalizing symptoms are linked at baseline but do not influence each other's developmental pathways.
- Both parental worry and child internalizing symptoms tend to decrease over time during childhood.
- Findings suggest distinct developmental trajectories for parental worry and child internalizing symptoms.
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