Abstract
It is generally believed that prior to the middle to late elementary school years children's reports of anxious symptoms represent nothing more than transient developmental phenomena. In light of the limited empirical study of this issue and its import to the allocation of mental health resources, the present study seeks to provide empirical evidence of the significance of anxious symptoms in children younger than 7. Specifically, utilizing an epidemiologically defined population of 1197 first-grade children, followed longitudinally from the fall to spring of first grade, we examine the stability, prevalence and caseness of children's self-reports of anxious symptoms. Self-reported anxious symptoms proved relatively stable over 4-month test-retest interval. In addition, they appeared to have a significant impact on academic functioning in terms of reading achievement. These findings on stability, caseness, and prevalence suggest children's self-reported anxious symptoms in the early elementary school years may have clinical significance. However, further study is necessary before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Angold, A. (1988). Childhood and adolescent depression: I. Epidemiological and aetiological aspects.British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 601–617.
Bartko, J. J. (1976). On various intraclass correlation reliability coefficients.Psychological Bulletin, 83, 762–765.
Benjamin, R. S., Costello, E. J., & Warren, M. (1990). Anxiety disorders in a pediatric sample.Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 4, 293–316.
Beardslee, W., Klerman, G., Keller, M., Lavori, P., & Podorefsky, D. (1985). But are they cases? Validity of DSM-III major depression in children identified in a family study.American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 687–691.
Berkson, J. (1946). Limitations of the application of the fourfold contingency table.Biometrics Bulletin, 2, 47–53.
Bird, H., Canino, G., Rubio-Stipec, M., Gould, M. S., Ribera, J., Sesman, M., Woodbury, M., Huertas-Goldman, S., Pagan, A., Sanchez-Lacay, A., & Moscoso, M. (1988). Estimates of prevalence of childhood maladjustment in a community survey in Puerto Rico.Archives of General Psychiatry, 45, 1120–1126.
Casey, R. J. (1993). Children's emotional experience: Relations among expression, self-report, and understanding.Developmental Psychology, 29, 119–129.
Feinberg, S. E. (1977).The analysis of cross-classified categorical data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Fleming, J., Offord, D., & Boyle, M. H. (1989). The Ontario Child Health Study: Prevalence of childhood and adolescent depression in the community.British Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 647–654.
Kellam, S. (1990). Developmental epidemiological framework for family research on depression and aggression. In G. Patterson (Ed.),Depression and aggression in family interaction (pp. 11–48). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kovacs, M. & Goldston, D. (1991). Cognitive and social cognitive development of depressed children and adolescents.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 388–392.
Lapouse, R. & Monk, M. (1959). Fears and worries in a representative sample of children.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 29, 803–818.
Lefkowitz, M. M., & Tesiny, E. P. (1985). Depression in Children: Prevalence and correlates.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 647–656.
Martini, D., Strayhorn, J., & Puig-Antich, J. (1990). A symptom self-report measure for preschoolers.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 12–20.
National Institute of Mental Health. (1991).Implementation of the national plan for research on child and adolescent mental disorders (Program Announcement PA-91-46). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Pekarik, E., Prinz, R., Leibert, C., Weintraub, S., and Neale, J. (1976). The pupil evaluation inventory: A sociometric technique for assessing children's social behavior.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 4, 83–97.
Quay, H. (1986). Classification. In H. C. Quay & J. S. Werry (Eds.,Psychopathological disorders of childhood (3rd ed. pp. 1–35). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. O. (1985).Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (R-CMAS) manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Siegel, S. (1956).Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wardrop, J. L. (1989). Review of the California Achievement Tests, Forms E and F. In J. Close Conoley & J. Kramer (Eds.),The tenth mental measurements yearbook (pp. 128–133), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Werthamer-Larsson, L., Kellam, S., & Wheeler, L. (1991). Effect of first grade classroom environment on shy behavior, aggressive behavior, and concentration problems.American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 585–602.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ialongo, N., Edelsohn, G., Werthamer-Larsson, L. et al. The significance of self-reported anxious symptoms in first-grade children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 22, 441–455 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02168084
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02168084