Family Accommodation Rises with Poor

A study of children with anxiety disorders has found a link between poor emotional regulation and greater family accommodation. The research, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, indicates that children less able to manage emotional arousal tend to have families who alter their own behavior more to alleviate the child's distress.

Anxiety disorders can disrupt family life and school performance. Parents often try to help, but certain forms of assistance, known as family accommodation, can unintentionally maintain anxiety. This involves changing family routines to help a child avoid anxiety-provoking situations or to provide excessive reassurance.

The Study's Focus and Hypotheses

Study author Whitney S. Shepherd and her colleagues examined links between emotion dysregulation, anxiety sensitivity, distress intolerance, and family accommodation. They hypothesized these factors would be positively associated with family accommodation, even after accounting for anxiety severity. The team also explored whether these traits influenced the strength of the link between anxiety symptoms and accommodation.

The analysis used baseline data from 90 children aged 7 to 17 with clinically significant anxiety or OCD and their parents. Assessments measured emotion regulation, anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, family accommodation, and anxiety symptom severity.

Key Findings on Emotional Regulation

Results confirmed that more severe child anxiety symptoms correlated with higher parent-reported family accommodation. Crucially, when controlling for age, gender, and anxiety symptoms, emotion dysregulation was independently linked to greater accommodation. Children with poorer ability to regulate emotional arousal and express emotions appropriately had families who changed their behavior more.

The connection between a child's anxiety severity and family accommodation was stronger in children with lower distress tolerance. Distress tolerance is the capacity to endure unpleasant emotional states without becoming overwhelmed.

Implications for Intervention

The study authors suggest interventions targeting children's distress tolerance skills may help reduce family accommodation. They also note that targeting accommodation in treatments for anxious children with low distress tolerance could help decrease anxiety rates.

This research adds to understanding of factors linked to childhood anxiety. However, the study's cross-sectional design means cause-and-effect conclusions cannot be definitively drawn. The paper, "Transdiagnostic Correlates of Family Accommodation in Anxious Youth," was authored by Whitney S. Shepherd, Erika S. Trent, Orri Smarason, Hannah N. Sansone, Daphne M. Ayton, Amanda Palo, Abigail E. Candelari, Wayne K. Goodman, Andrew G. Guzick, and Eric A. Storch.