The Role of Parental Looming Maladaptive Cognitive Style, Parenting Behavior and Stressful Life Events in Children's Life on the Development of Anxiety and Depression in Children

Cilj ovoga rada bio je, po prvi puta, ispitati intergeneracijske učinke kognitivnog stila obilježenog strepnjom kod majki na razvoj anksioznosti i depresivnosti kod njihove djece. Kognitivni stil obilježen strepnjom označava tendenciju pojedinca da generira dinamične mentalne scenarije u kojima se prijetnja povećava i približava. Istraživanja čvrsto evidentiraju povezanost ovog stila i anksioznosti. S obzirom na nekonzistentnost u povezivanju istog stila i depresije, pokušali su se definirati uvjeti pod kojima se ta povezanost pojavljuje uvođenjem moderatorske varijable stresnih životnih događaja. Oni su značajni jer ne zahtijevaju iščekivanje s obzirom da su se već dogodili te su posljedice učinjene i neizbježne. U istraživanju su sudjelovala djeca u dobi od 11 do 15 godina i njihove majke pri čemu je ukupno bilo 163 para ispitanika majka - dijete. Ovaj rad potvrđuje hipotezu da kognitivni stil obilježen strepnjom ima doprinos u intergeneracijskom prijenosu anksioznosti, ali rezultati sugeriraju da ima doprinos i u objašnjenju depresivnosti. Većina tog doprinosa manifestira se preko roditeljskih ponašanja koja verbalnim iskazima ili modeliranjem svog strepećeg ponašanja mogu prenijeti iste na svoje dijete. Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju na važnost roditeljskih utjecaja, kako u razvoju pojedinih smetnji, tako i u preventivnom i u terapijskom smislu.The aim of this study was to examine for the first time, the intergenerational effects of looming maladaptive cognitive style of mothers on the development of anxiety and depression in their children. The looming cognitive style presentes the tendency of the individual to generate dynamic mental scenarios in which the threat increases and approaches. Researches firmly records the association between this style and anxiety. Due to the inconsistency in associating the looming cognitive style of mothers and depression, attempts were made to define the conditions under which this association occurs by introducing a moderating variable - stressful life events. Stressful events are significant since they do not require anticipation given that they have already occurred and these consequences are done and inevitable. Children of the age 11-15 and their respective mothers participated in the research, comprising 163 mother - child pairs in total. This paper confirms the hypothesis that looming cognitive style has its contribution to the intergenerational transmission of anxiety. Results suggest that it also contributes to the explanation of depressive symptoms. Most of that contribution is being manifested through parental behavior which can be transformed to the child verbaly or by modeling. The results suggest the importance of parental influences, both in the development of particular disorders and in preventive and therapeutic terms