Looking into some of the risk factors of mental health: the mediating role of maladaptive schemas in mothers’ parenting style and child anxiety disorders
| Published date | 18 June 2018 |
| Pages | 69-78 |
| Date | 18 June 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-08-2017-0028 |
| Author | Narges Adibsereshki,Mahdi Abdollahzadeh Rafi,Maryam Hassanzadeh Aval,Hassan Tahan |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
Looking into some of the risk factors of
mental health: the mediating role of
maladaptive schemas in mothers’
parenting style and child anxiety disorders
Narges Adibsereshki, Mahdi Abdollahzadeh Rafi, Maryam Hassanzadeh Aval and
Hassan Tahan
Abstract
Purpose –Anxiety disorders have a high prevalence in children. Those children with anxious symptoms are
more likely to experience significant disruption in their lives. This disruption can interrupt or even stop a child
from participating in a variety of typical childhood experiences. It is understood that genetic and
environmental factors may cause this disorder. The purpose of this paper is to focus on environmental
factors, namely, the mediating role of maladaptive schemas in mothers’child-rearing and childhood
anxiety disorders.
Design/methodology/approach –This study used correlatio n-modeling to assess the analysis.
The sample included 326 students (aged 9-12 years old) and their mothers. The parenting style
(Baumrind, 1973), Early Maladaptive Schema (Rijkeboer and de Boo, 2010), and anxiety disorders
(Muris et al., 2006) questionnaires were used in this study.
Findings –The results showed a relationship between parenting styles of mothers and childhood anxiety
disorders,a significant correlationbetween childhood maladaptiveschemas and childhoodanxiety disorders,a
relation between child-rearing styles and childhood maladaptive schemas, and finally a mediating role on
childhood anxietydisorders and mothers’child-rearing styles for some childhoodmaladaptive schemas.
Originality/value –This research contributes to the knowledge base of the importance of children’s mental
health. The paper analyzes the relationship of mothers’parenting styles and children’s anxiety. It also focuses
on maladaptive schemas as a mediator and its relationship with childhood anxiety disorders.
Keywords Anxiety disorders, Early Maladaptive Schemas, Parenting styles (child-rearing)
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The prevalence of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents is between 5 and 30 percent
(Copelandet al., 2014), which in Iran is about 10percent (Ghaamaari et al., 2009).These disorders
are usually characterized by children or adolescents frequently experiencing anxiety symptoms,
including intense negative emotions and fear (Mash and Wolf, 2010). Understandably, these
disorders have a huge impact on patients’daily lives (Antony et al., 1998). Anxiety disorders can
also create undesirable consequences laterin life, such as poor compatibility at work, poor family
relationships andrelated problems, low life satisfaction,poor coping skills, chronic stress, alcohol
and drug abuse, and anxiety in adulthood (Essau et al., 2014; Abdollahzadeh Rafi, 2014).
Hereditary and environmental factors have been linked to children’s anxiety disorders. Some
studies have raised the issue of inheritance (Stein et al., 2002; Robinson et al., 1992). DiLalla et al.
(1994) studied twins and revealed that the probability of developing anxiety disorders in the twins
of one egg and in the twins of two eggs is similar, leading to the conclusion that environmental
Received 10 August 2017
Revised 16 February 2018
Accepted 24 February 2018
Narges Adibsereshki is based
at the University of Social
Welfare and Rehabilitation
Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahdi Abdollahzadeh Rafi is
based at the Malayer
University, Malayer, Iran.
Maryam Hassanzadeh Aval is
based in Bojnord, Iran.
Hassan Tahan is School
Teacher based in Bojnord, Iran.
DOI 10.1108/JPMH-08-2017-0028 VOL. 17 NO. 2 2018, pp. 69-78, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTALHEALTH
j
PAG E 69
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