Parent stress and child anxiety in a community mental health center

textThe primary focus of this study was to examine the relationship between parent stress and child anxiety. In addition, differences in child anxiety by gender and ethnicity were explored. Finally, data were evaluated to determine differences in types of anxiety symptoms reported by children. Participants were 34 parent-child dyads from Morrison Child and Family Services in Portland, Oregon. Children (20 females, 14 males) ranged in age from 8 years to 12 years. The parent group (30 females, 4 males) included only biological parents or legal guardians, with 23 parents reporting a single-caregiver home. Results were not significant for correlations between parent stress or parent life stress and child anxiety or for differences in child anxiety by gender or ethnicity. Results did indicate that on the MASC, children reported significantly higher scores on the Harm Avoidance scale than any other index. Limitations and future directions are discussed.Educational Psycholog