Family Functioning in Families of Children with Anxiety Disorders

The authors examined maternal and paternal reports of family functioning and their relationship with child outcomes as well as the association between anxiety and depression in family members and family functioning. Results reveal that maternal and paternal reports of family functioning were both significantly associated with worse child outcomes, including child anxiety disorder (AD) severity, anxiety symptoms, and child global functioning. Maternal and paternal anxiety and depression predicted worse family functioning, whereas child report of anxiety and depression did not. Parents of children with ADs reported significantly worse family functioning and behavior control, but only fathers reported worse problem solving and affective involvement compared with fathers of children with no psychological disorders. Findings from this study suggest that paternal as well as maternal anxiety and depression play a role in worse family functioning in children with ADs and that unhealthier family functioning is associated with worse child outcomes in this population.