Discrepancies in child and parent reports and their association with parental anxiety in youths with anxiety disorders

This study examined discrepancies between child and parent reports of pediatric anxiety, depression, and anger, as well as how parental anxiety differentially influenced these reports across clinical manifestations. Participants were recruited from clinical centers in Brazil specializing in anxiety disorders, comprising 47 children aged 7 to 17 years and their parents. Parent-child agreement was moderate to high for anxiety and depression symptoms but nonsignificant for anger. Parental anxiety was significantly associated with child anxiety and depression in parent-reported measures, while child-reported measures showed significant associations only between parental anxiety and child anxiety. Multivariate analyses identified parental anxiety as a significant predictor for child anxiety but not for child depression. These findings emphasize the influence of parental anxiety on parental perceptions of pediatric anxiety, highlighting the need to account for this potential bias in clinical assessments and treatment planning.