It is a known information for many years that anxious father and mother can pass anxiety issues on to their kids. Although this fact is well known, no one is prepared to say yes to this query 'is anxiety inherited'?.
But now, a new 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 indications and risks of anxiety amongst these children.
Everyone can get worried from time to time, but when the disaster starts taking over someone's life, the situation is then known as anxiety disorder. It can be exceedingly worrying and inhibit people from living their lives fully. Many individuals with anxiety disorder may also have phobias and develop panic attacks.
For the study purposes, the Hopkins investigators looked at 40 children with the ages between 7 and 12 years. The children were not identified with anxiety disorder themselves but all of them had at least one parent who was identified with the condition. What other proof do we really require to answer the question 'is anxiety inherited'.
Research workers randomly split the participants into 2 groups, with twenty of the kids and their families taking part in an eight-week cognitive behavioral therapy program, while the another 20 were put on a waiting list and did not receive any treatment during the period of the study, but were offered therapy 1 year later.
The CBT program, which consisted of one-hour-long weekly sessions, was focusing on a development of problem-solving abilities, training about anxiety problem, as well as helped parents identify and change behaviours alleged to contribute to anxiety in the children.
The chief researcher of the study, 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 according to the records collected by the specialists, the children of parents with an anxiety disorder are up to 7 times more more likely to develop the problem themselves, and up to 65% of children who live with an anxious parent meet the criteria for anxiety problem.
The outcome of the trial revealed that within a period of 1 year, 30 per cent of the kids who didn't take part in the program, had developed an anxiety disorder, compared to none of the children who were enrolled in the family based therapy. A 40 per cent decrease 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 signs and symptoms observed among children on the waiting list.
The parental behaviours adapted with therapy program included overprotection, excessive criticism and extreme expression of fear and anxiety in front of the kids. The program targeted childhood risk factors like avoiding anxiety-provoking situations and anxious thoughts.
In accordance with a recent editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine, it's deterrence and not treatment, of childhood anxiety, that's of a primary importance, because anxiety disorders affect one in every 5 children in the United States, but very generally are left unrecognized. If not addressed in time, the problem 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 US government's National Institute of Mental Health. So 'is anxiety inherited', yes. Can we change the pattern of behaviour yes!