Publication year
2011
Citation Title
Which fearful toddlers should we worry about? Context, fear regulation, and anxiety risk.
Journal Name
Developmental Psychology
Journal Volume
47
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
804-819
DOI
10.1037/a0023227
Summary
Survey data were used to explore whether expressing fear in situations low in threat at age two predicted the risk for developing anxiety by the start of kindergarten. Results supported the prediction such that it is not how much fear is expressed, but when the fear is expressed and how it is expressed that is important for characterizing adaptive behavior. Early intervention for children displaying a dysregulated fear profile may reduce the risk of later developing anxiety.
Key Findings
The normative fear profile (90% of sample) showed the hypothesized pattern of increasing fear as threat increased.
The dysregulated fear profile (10% of sample) was composed of toddlers who had higher levels of fear in situations of lower threat (relative to the moderate- to high-threat episodes).
A dysregulated fear profile was associated with higher anxiety in preschool (as reported by mothers and teachers) and social withdrawal in kindergarten.
Implications for Military Professionals
Develop modules regarding early predictors of anxiety and educate military parents about ways to support children with dysregulated fear profiles
Facilitate support groups for families coping with anxiety issues
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide early screening and identification of fear dysregulation in military children
Offer prevention and early intervention to military children during the pre-school years to help decrease the likelihood of anxiety disorders later
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend screening for fear dysregulation in early childhood be added to wellness checks in contexts such as health care and school settings for military children
Continue to support program that support military families coping with anxiety within their children
Methods
Participants were recruited via mailed letters, which described the study; those interested in participating were asked to return an enclosed postcard.
Toddlers at age two were assessed each year through the fall of their kindergarten year.
Observational data were collected by researchers and a second-by-second micro-coding system was used to score the children’s emotional and behavioral expressions. Mothers and teachers also completed survey measures.
Participants
One hundred eleven low-risk 24-month-old toddlers (range: 18–30 months) were included in this study.
The sample was ethnically homogeneous: 90% White, 4% Black, 4% Latino/Latina, 2% Asian-American, 1% Native American.
Fifty-five percent of toddlers were male; the majority of caregivers were mothers (percentage not given).
Limitations
There was some participant attrition at follow-up, which could bias results.
This was a small sample of predominantly White, intact, middle-class families, limiting the generalizability of these findings.
Parents may have been trying to respond in a socially desirable way, biasing results.
Avenues for Future Research
Replicate these findings in a larger and more demographically diverse sample, and with a sample of military children
Test whether children’s anxiety continues as they become more familiar with teachers and adapt to the classroom
Explore whether a child's level of anxiety is impacted by parents level of anxiety
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
In the current study, the author tested a model of risk for anxiety in fearful toddlers characterized by the toddlers' regulation of the intensity of withdrawal behavior across a variety of contexts. Participants included low-risk 24-month-old toddlers (N = 111) followed longitudinally each year through the fall of their kindergarten year. The key hypothesis was that being fearful in situations that are relatively low in threat (i.e., are predictable and controllable and in which children have many coping resources) is an early precursor to risk for anxiety development as measured by parental and teacher reports of children's anxious behaviors in kindergarten. Results supported the prediction such that it is not how much fear is expressed but when and how the fear is expressed that is important for characterizing adaptive behavior. Implications are discussed for a model of risk that includes the regulation of fear, the role of eliciting context, social wariness, and the importance of examining developmental transitions, such as the start of formal schooling. These findings have implications for the methods used to identify fearful children who may be at risk for developing anxiety-related problems.
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