Temperamental Risk Factors for Pediatric Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, a great deal of research has focused on fearful temperament as a putative risk factor for the development of pediatric anxiety disorders, with most evidence suggesting a link with social anxiety disorder [1-8]. The bulk of the literature on fearful temperament has been framed by the prominent approach of behavioral inhibition; thus, this will be discussed in detail in this chapter. However, we also include recent work that supports a new construct, dysregulated fear, which is conceptually and methodologically distinct from behavioral inhibition and improves the prediction of which fearful toddlers are at risk for pediatric anxiety disorders [9]. The following review will summarize the empirical bases for these two approaches and their role in the development of anxiety disorders, as well as evidence for biomarkers, executive processes, and parenting environment that exacerbate or ameliorate this early temperament risk. Throughout this chapter, the broader term of fearful temperament will be used if neither behavioral inhibition nor dysregulated fear is specified.