Anxiety in childhood : parental expectations, differential parenting and siblings

Anxiety is known to run in families and evidence suggests there is a high correlation between parent anxious cognitions and child anxious cognitions. It has been suggested that parental expectations of their child‟s anxiety may mediate this relationship. This systematic literature review aimed to investigate the relationship between parental expectations about their child‟s anxious cognitions and child anxiety. PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library were searched. Ten articles met the inclusion criteria. The review found support for the relationship between parent expectations of their child‟s anxious cognitions and child anxiety. Parental expectations also appeared to develop over time and within a reciprocal relationship with child cognitions. However, due to the limited data, methodological flaws, and heterogenity of the studies, firm conclusions could not be made. This area warrants further research. The limitations of the review are discussed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo