Universität zu Köln

Taflinger, Shannon ORCID: 0000-0001-8991-0892 and Eisentraut, Marcus ORCID: 0000-0002-5620-9933 (2025). Different Trajectories, Stable Links: Parental Worry and Child Internalizing Symptoms Over Time. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 54 (10). pp. 2524-2539. Springer Nature. ISSN 0047-2891

PDF s10964-025-02237-1.pdf Bereitstellung unter der CC-Lizenz: Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

Abstract

While research has investigated the relation between (general) parent anxiety and child mental health outcomes, parental worry specific to one’s children has often been overlooked. Therefore, this study examines longitudinal dynamics between parental worry and child internalizing symptoms. Data are from waves 3–13 (2010–2020) of the German Family Panel (pairfam). Parental worry and child symptoms were reported by parents and children, respectively, every two years. The sample includes children ages 8–15 (N boys = 667, N girls = 593) and their parents (N fathers = 290, N mothers = 646) living in Germany. Results show that initial levels of parental worry and child internalizing symptoms (ages 8–9) are related and remain stable over time, however, parent and child trajectories are not related. While children’s symptoms tend to decrease, parental worry also decreases with little variation. The results do not provide evidence for bidirectional influences on each other’s trajectories.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Taflinger, Shannon UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8991-0892 UNSPECIFIED Eisentraut, Marcus UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5620-9933 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-805730
Identification Number:	10.1007/s10964-025-02237-1
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Volume:	54
Number:	10
Page Range:	pp. 2524-2539
Number of Pages:	16
Date:	22 October 2025
Publisher:	Springer Nature
ISSN:	0047-2891
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Weitere Institute, Arbeits- und Forschungsgruppen > Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology (ISS)
Subjects:	Psychology Social sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Parental worry ; Child internalizing symptoms ; Longitudinal trajectories ; Bidirectional effects ; Parental anxiety ; Child mental health English
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/80573