It has been a known information for many years that anxious father and mother can pass anxiety disorders on to their children. Although this reality is well known, nobody is prepared to say yes to this question 'is anxiety inherited'?.
But now, a recent research by the scientists at Johns Hopkins Children's Centre, came up with the conclusion that a family-based program where mom & dad and children are being treated jointly, can reduce the signs and symptoms and possibilities of anxiety amongst these children.
Each person can get nervous from time to time, but when the crisis starts taking over someone's life, the condition is then named anxiety problem. It can be exceedingly worrying and inhibit people from living their lives fully. Some individuals with anxiety problem may also have phobias and develop panic attacks.
For the research purposes, the Hopkins investigators looked at 40 children with the ages between 7 and twelve years. The children weren't identified with anxiety disorder themselves but they all had at least one parent who was identified with the condition. What other proof do we truly require to answer the question 'is anxiety inherited'.
Research workers randomly split the participants into two groups, with 20 of the kids and their families taking part in an 8-week cognitive behavioral therapy program, while the other 20 were put on a waiting list and did not receive any treatment during the period of the research, but were provided therapy one year later.
The CBT program, which consisted of one-hour-long weekly sessions, was focusing on a development of problem-solving skills, instruction about anxiety problem, also helped parents identify and change behaviours alleged to contribute to anxiety in the children.
The chief researcher of the research, Dr. Golda Ginsburg, PH.D., a child psychologist at Hopkins Children's Centre and an associate professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, stated that based on the records gathered by the specialists, the children of parents with an anxiety disorder are up to seven times more more likely to develop the problem themselves, and up to 65% of kids who live with an anxious parent meet the criteria for anxiety disorder.
The outcome of the trial revealed that within a period of twelve months, 30% of the children who did not take part in the program, had developed an anxiety problem, in comparison with none of the kids who were enrolled in the family based therapy. A 40% reduction in anxiety symptoms in the year after the therapy program were separately reported by parents along with investigators who analyzed the behaviour of the kids and their parents. There was no fall of anxiety indications observed among kids on the waiting list.
The parental behaviours adapted with therapy program included overprotection, too much criticism and too much expression of fear and anxiety in front of the kids. The program targeted childhood danger factors such as avoiding anxiety-provoking situations and anxious thoughts.
In accordance with a recent editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine, it is deterrence and not treatment, of childhood anxiety, that's of a primary importance, since anxiety issues affect one in every five children in the USA, but very generally are left unrecognized. If not addressed in time, the trouble can lead to depression, substance abuse and poor academic performance during childhood years and way into adulthood.
Outcome of the research will be available in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. The research was funded by the United States government's National Institute of Mental Health. So 'is anxiety inherited', yes. Can we change the pattern of behaviour yes!
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