'Is Anxiety Inherited'? A Research On The Issue And Its Result Seen On Children And Mother & Father

It is a known information for many years that anxious mom and dad can pass anxiety disorders on to their children. Although this truth is well known, no one is prepared to say yes to this question '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 signs and symptoms and risks of anxiety amongst these children.

Everyone can get nervous from time to time, but when the disaster starts taking over one's life, the condition is then named anxiety disorder. It can be exceedingly worrying and inhibit people from living their lives fully. Some persons with anxiety problem may also have phobias and develop panic attacks.

For the study purposes, the Hopkins investigators looked at 40 kids with the ages between 7 and 12 years. The children weren't identified with anxiety problem themselves but they all had minimum one parent who was diagnosed with the condition. What other proof do we really require to answer the question 'is anxiety inherited'.

Researchers randomly split the participants into two groups, with 20 of the children and their families taking part in an 8-week cognitive behavioral therapy program, while the another 20 were put on a waiting list and did not receive any treatment throughout the period of the study, but were provided therapy one year later.

The CBT program, which consisted of one-hour-long weekly sessions, was focusing on a development of problem-solving abilities, instruction about anxiety disorder, in addition to assisted parents identify and change behaviours alleged to contribute to anxiety in the kids.

The chief researcher of the research, 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 based on the records collected by the specialists, the children of parents with an anxiety problem are up to 7 times more more likely to develop the problem themselves, and up to 65 per cent 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% of the children who didn't participate in the program, had developed an anxiety problem, compared to none of the children who were enrolled in the family based therapy. A 40 per cent reduction in anxiety symptoms in the year after the therapy program were separately reported by parents beside investigators who analyzed the behaviour of the kids and their parents. There was no fall of anxiety signs observed among kids on the waiting list.

The parental behaviours adapted with therapy program included overprotection, excessive criticism and too much expression of fear and anxiety in front of the kids. The program targeted childhood risk factors like avoiding anxiety-provoking situations and anxious thoughts.

According to 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, since anxiety issues affect one in every five children in the United States, but very often are left unrecognized. If not addressed in time, the trouble can lead to depression, substance abuse and poor academic performance throughout 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 study 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!