Relationship between parenting style and anxiety in a Spanish children sample

Abstract

The aim of this study is to ascertain whether there are any differences in the parenting practices experienced by two groups of children with, respectively, low-risk and high-risk scores for anxiety. A second objective is to determine which parenting variables are linked with the presence or absence of this kind of internalizing problem. From a sample of 550 subjects, we selected 180 children between 3 and 12 years of age who met a set of specific criteria as having either high risk scores (90 children) or low risk scores (90 children) for anxiety, according to the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). After applying the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI-M) to both parents, we carried out a binomial logistic regression analysis which resulted in a prediction model for 83.9% of the sample. The model was based on the following parenting variables: paternal involvement and support for autonomy, and maternal parental support, satisfaction with parenting, involvement, limit setting and role orientation. The paper also discusses the usefulness of our results for the planning of family intervention strategies. The information obtained has broad applications for interventions with families with anxious children, since parents’ responses to the instruments used revealed patterns of behaviour that can be modified in both parents and children.