The Role of Child Anxiety in Parent Sick Role Reinforcement

<p>A large body of evidence suggests that parents can facilitate offspring anxiety in response to bodily arousal. These learning experiences are referred to as “sick role reinforcement,” and are particularly important during adolescence, given the profound bodily changes (e.g., puberty) that characterize this period. Sick role reinforcement is likely important in the context of panic disorder (PD). Panic theorists suggest that parents may enhance panic vulnerability by increasing the threat value of bodily sensations. Although a sizeable body of work has examined the role of parent behavior in these processes, few have examined offspring factors in this process. Additionally, little work has examined how parental anxiety sensitivity (AS) is associated with parental sick role reinforcement. The current study investigates the associations among these variables using a series of vignettes in which parents were asked to imagine their adolescent offspring were describing a number of sensations associated with anxiety to examine the role of adolescent descriptions and parental AS on sick role reinforcement behavior. Results suggested significant effects of both offspring descriptions of bodily sensations and parental AS on parental sick role reinforcement behavior. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding the nature and origins of adolescent panic symptoms and how such information can be utilized to inform prevention and intervention efforts.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Bilsky, Sarah Ann

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Leen-Feldner, Ellen W.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Feldner, Matthew T.
• Behrend, Douglas A.

• Social sciences
• Psychology
• Health and environmental sciences
• Adolescents
• Anxiety sensitivity
• Panic
• Parents
• Sick role learning
• Child Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Personality and Social Contexts

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1486

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uark.edu:etd-2485