Parenting and Parental Anxiety and Depression as Predictors of Treatment Outcome for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Has the Role of Fathers Been Underestimated?

A substantial percentage of children with anxiety disorders do not respond adequately to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Examination of parental factors related to treatment outcome could contribute to a further understanding of treatment outcome responses. This study investigated the predictive value of paternal and maternal emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection, anxiety, and depression for CBT outcome in clinic-referred anxious children (ages 8-12). Levels of maternal emotional warmth, paternal rejection and anxiety, and depressive symptoms predicted treatment success and failure. A higher level of maternal emotional warmth was associated with a less favorable treatment outcome. Higher levels of paternal rejection, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were consistently associated with a less favorable treatment outcome.