The mental health of young people has become a global concern, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. With 38% of anxiety disorders developing before age 14, and almost 52% by age 18, prevention and early intervention are urgently needed to reduce the short and long-term impacts of these disorders on children. Bidirectional associations between parent characteristics (such as parental over-protection) and child characteristics (such as behavioural inhibition) underscore the importance of providing intervention for both parent and child to mitigate the impacts of child anxiety.
In this Review, we first synthesize evidence about the directionality of the influence between parents and children in the development and maintenance of child anxiety. We then interrogate the evidence for various intervention approaches for child anxiety to delineate how adequately existing interventions tackle the complex interrelationships between parenting and child anxiety. Finally, we highlight critical gaps in knowledge, propose future research, and provide recommendations for future efforts to improve the support available to parents.
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