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Objective: Increasing evidence for the importance of several risk factors for anxiety disorders is beginning to point to the possibility of prevention. Early interventions targeting known risk for anxiety have rarely been evaluated. The authors evaluated the medium-term (3-year) effects of a parent-focused intervention for anxiety in inhibited preschool-age children., Method: The study was a randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention program provided to parents compared with a monitoring-only condition. Participants were 146 inhibited preschool-age children and their parents; data from two or more assessment points were available at 3 years for 121 children. Study inclusion was based on parent-reported screening plus laboratory-observed inhibition. The six-session group-based intervention included parenting skills, cognitive restructuring, and in vivo exposure. The main outcome measures were number and severity of anxiety disorders, anxiety symptoms, and extent of inhibition., Results: Children whose parents received the intervention showed lower frequency and severity of anxiety disorders and lower levels of anxiety symptoms according to maternal, paternal, and child report. Levels of inhibition did not differ significantly based on either parent report or laboratory observation., Conclusions: This brief, inexpensive intervention shows promise in potentially altering the trajectory of anxiety and related disorders in young inhibited children.

Background: Little is known about risk factors for anxiety in young children. The current study investigated the value of a set of theoretically derived risk factors to predict symptoms of anxiety in a sample of preschool-aged children., Methods: Mothers (n = 632) and fathers (n = 249) completed questionnaires twice, 12 months apart. Measures were selected to assess several risk factors derived from current theory, including parental negative affectivity, child inhibition, parent overprotection, and impact of life events., Results: Even at this young age anxiety across 12 months was moderately to highly stable (r's = .75 and .74 based on maternal and paternal report respectively). Over and above this stability, according to maternal report, anxiety at 12 months was significantly predicted by prior maternal overprotection, impact of negative life events, child's inhibition, and maternal negative affectivity. According to paternal report, anxiety at 12 months was significantly predicted by prior paternal overprotection and impact of negative life events. The models did not differ significantly for girls and boys., Conclusions: The results support theories of the development of anxiety, especially the role of parental and external environmental factors, and point to possible targets for prevention of heightened anxiety in young children.

The purpose of this study was to test the validity and factorial structure of a modified version of the Preschool Anxiety Scale (Spence, Rapee, McDonald, & Ingram, 2001). The measure was completed by 764 mothers and 418 fathers of children aged 3 to 5 years. After removing, two items tapping obsessive compulsive symptoms, confirmatory factor analysis showed that a four-factor model (social anxiety, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, specific fears) all loading on a higher order "anxiety" factor, provided an optimal fit for the data. The total scale and 4 subscales showed strong internal consistency (alphas = .72-.92), 12-month stability y (rs = .60-.75) and maternal/paternal agreement (rs = .60-.75). Scores on the scale also showed expected correlations with a measure of emotional distress, diagnosed anxiety disorders, and behavioral indicators of anxiety.

The efficacy of early intervention for preschool-aged children at risk of anxiety disorders is investigated. Brief early intervention delivered through parents can reduce anxiety and associated risk and may alter the developmental trajectory of anxiety in some young children.