The Relationship between Maternal Overprotection and Anxious Beliefs with Child Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Child Inhibition in Clients Referred to Urmia Police Force Counseling Center

A model of child anxiety

https://doi.org/10.22122/ijbmc.v11i4.517
Anxiety Anxious beliefs Inhibition Parental overprotection

Authors

  • Hossein Rostami Research Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences in Police, Directorate of Health, Rescue and Treatment, Police Headquarter AND FARAJA Institute of Law Enforcement Sciences and Social Studies, Tehran, Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Shirin Zeinali
    sh.zeinali@urmia.ac.ir
    Department of Psychology, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Maedeh Satatrineya MA, Departmnet of Exceptional Psychology, Tehran Science and Research University, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Somayeh Ghanizadeh PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
  • Ebrahim Nouri FARAJA Institute of Law Enforcement Sciences and Social Studies, Tehran, Iran, Iran, Islamic Republic of
Vol 11, No 4 (2024)
Quantitative Study(ies)
August 19, 2023
July 10, 2024

Downloads

Background: It seems that children's anxiety is affected by parental factors and the child's personality characteristics. The objective of this study was to develop a model of child anxiety based on maternal overprotection, anxious beliefs, and the mediating role of child inhibition in clients referred to the Urmia Police Force Counseling Center, Urmia, Iran.

Methods: In this modeling type of correlational study, among the clients referring to the Urmia Police Force Counseling Center in 2021-2022, 218 mothers with children aged 2 to 8 years were selected using a convenience sampling method. Mothers completed the Roth Manual of Mother-Child Relationship Evaluation (MCRE), Spence et al. Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS), Francis and Chorpita Parental Beliefs about Anxiety Questionnaire (PBA-Q), and Bishop et al. Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire (BIQ). The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS [mean, standard deviation (SD), and correlation] and Amos software using the path analysis method.

Results: A significant positive relationship was found between maternal overprotection (r = 0.49, P < 0.001), anxious beliefs (r = 0.54, P < 0.001), child inhibition (r = 0.48, P < 0.001), and child anxiety. Moreover, overprotection had an indirect and positive effect (β = 0.41, P < 0.02) on the child's anxiety given the mediating role of the child's inhibition (β = 0.073, P < 0.01). Anxious beliefs directly (β = 0.41, P < 0.01), indirectly, and positively affected a child's anxiety given the mediating role of the child's inhibition (β = 0.098, P < 0.001). It should be noted that the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) index was 0.09 and the comparative fit index (CFI) was 0.987, which were acceptable.

Conclusion: Based on the results, the mother's cognitive and behavioral characteristics can affect anxiety through the child's behavioral inhibition characteristic. In addition to parents' cognitive and behavioral characteristics, the child's temperament and parents' response based on the children's temperament should be also considered in the diagnosis and treatment of children's anxiety disorders.