Publication year
2014
Citation Title
A model-based cluster analysis of social experiences in clinically anxious youth: Links to emotional functioning
Journal Name
Anxiety, Stress, & Coping: An International Journal
Journal Volume
27
Issue Number
5
Page Numbers
494-508
DOI
10.1080/10615806.2014.890712
Summary
Sixty-four children with a primary diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, and/or generalized anxiety disorder and their parents and teachers participated in a study to examine patterns of social experiences in clinically anxious children. Three patterns of social experience were found in these children: average (no impairment in social functioning), unaware (high parent/teacher reports of social problems but average scores on child self-report measures), and victimized and lonely (children reporting overt loneliness and feeling victimized).
Key Findings
Children with diagnosed anxiety disorders were classified into three categories: average (69%), unaware (19%), and victimized and lonely (13%).
Children in the average group were children whose social functioning was good based on parent, teacher, and child reports; these children experienced better overall adjustment.
Unaware children reported their own social functioning as better than what their parents and teachers reported; these children were more likely to have difficulty regulating their emotions.
Victimized and lonely children reported experiencing high levels of bullying and loneliness; these children tended to have more adjustment problems.
Implications for Military Professionals
Provide youth with anxiety disorders additional support during program participation, with particular attention to any bullying of these youth
Work with youth to help them develop skills to interact with peers who may experience high levels of anxiety
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide supportive classes for parents that address the impact of bullying for military youth
Teach young people strategies for managing fear and anxiety associated with bullying
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend professional development for professionals who work with military families regarding bullying
Encourage the development and evaluation of programs for youth in military families that aim to decrease bullying
Methods
Flyers were posted in a variety of community locations to recruit youth aged seven to twelve years old with a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder who were not currently taking medications for mental health disorders and who were not currently receiving therapy.
Parents, youth, and one of the youth's teachers completed measures of the child’s emotion regulation and behavior.
Data were analyzed to determine patterns of social behavior in anxious children and associations with a variety of outcomes.
Participants
Participants were 64 children (60% boys) with an average age of 9 years old (SD = 2 years).
Of the parents, 75% were married, and 57% had household income over $70,000/year.
The sample included 86% White children, 6% Black children, and 2% Asian American children.
Limitations
The sample size was relatively small and homogeneous in terms of socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic diversity, so results may not be generalizable to other populations.
Youth were not currently receiving medication or therapy for mental health conditions, so these results may not be applicable to groups of youth who are receiving such treatment.
While adjustment or lack thereof may be caused by the youth's pattern of social functioning, it may also be the case that the adjustment causes the pattern of social functioning; these data do not differentiate between the two explanations.
Avenues for Future Research
Replicate this study using a larger and more diverse sample
Utilize observations to examine the social experiences of youth with anxiety disorders
Examine the developmental trajectories of youth with anxiety disorders using a longitudinal design
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Social difficulties are commonly associated with anxiety disorders in youth, yet are not well specified in the literature. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of social experiences in clinically anxious children and examine the associations with indices of emotional functioning. A model-based cluster analysis was conducted on parent-, teacher-, and child-reports of social experiences with 64 children, ages 7–12 years (M = 8.86 years, SD = 1.59 years; 60.3% boys; 85.7% Caucasian) with a primary diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, and/or generalized anxiety disorder. Follow-up analyses examined cluster differences on indices of emotional functioning. Findings yielded three clusters of social experiences that were unrelated to diagnosis: (1) Unaware Children (elevated scores on parent- and teacher-reports of social difficulties but relatively low scores on child-reports, n = 12), (2) Average Functioning (relatively average scores across all informants, n = 44), and (3) Victimized and Lonely (elevated child-reports of overt and relational victimization and loneliness and relatively low scores on parent- and teacher-reports of social difficulties, n = 8). Youth in the Unaware Children cluster were rated as more emotionally dysregulated by teachers and had a greater number of diagnoses than youth in the Average Functioning group. In contrast, the Victimized and Lonely group self-reported greater frequency of negative affect and reluctance to share emotional experiences than the Average Functioning cluster. Overall, this study demonstrates that social maladjustment in clinically anxious children can manifest in a variety of ways and assessment should include multiple informants and methods.
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