Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
4.5 to 7 years: fearful behaviour, fears and worries
J Stevenson-Hinde1, A Shouldice
1MRC Group on the Development and Integration of Behaviour, Madingley, Cambridge, U.K.
Abstract:
Fearful behaviour, fears and worries of young children are central not only to normal development, but also to the development of anxiety disorders. In a community sample, consistency from age 4.5 to 7 years was significant for all measures of behavioural approach/withdrawal, as well as for the degree of reported fears and worries. Observed approach/withdrawal behaviour was not correlated with fears and worries reported by either mothers or children. There were no sex differences in the levels of measures or their consistency, with one exception: maternal reports of worries were less consistent but possibly more valid for girls than for boys. When interviewed at 7 years, girls expressed worries about family members, while boys tended to worry about their own performance.
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