Prevention of anxiety in children of anxious parents

Anxiety is considered to be the most common mental disorder, with 350,000-400,000 Danish adults experiencing symptoms that meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety can manifest itself through physical symptoms, such as heart palpitations or headaches and stomach aches; it can affect one's thinking, causing one to overestimate danger or feel unable to stop worrying; and it can affect one's behaviour, causing one to avoid situations because they are considered dangerous, or feel compelled to do certain things because otherwise one would become anxious.

• The project is aimed at adults who suffer from anxiety and who have children aged 6-12.
   
• Participants in the project may receive help for their anxiety in the form of either talk therapy and/or psychotropic drugs (medication).
   
• The project is not aimed at people who are currently suffering from bipolar disorder or active psychosis, or at people who themselves or whose children have developmental or intellectual difficulties (e.g. autism spectrum disorders).
   
• Furthermore, the project is not intended for families whose child is receiving treatment for anxiety (e.g. Cool Kids) while participating in the research project.

Anxiety can affect your everyday life and family life in different ways and to varying degrees. No parent who suffers from anxiety wants this for their child. At the same time, we know that children are at higher risk of developing anxiety if their parents suffer from anxiety.

Adults with anxiety who are parents may be unsure about what they can do to be good role models and help their children thrive and grow up as confident individuals – without anxiety. There is a lot of (sometimes conflicting) information available to parents about raising children, which can be difficult to navigate.

Our hope is that we can gain more knowledge about the development of anxiety in children of parents who themselves suffer from anxiety, and whether anxiety in these children can be prevented.

1. Participation in the project requires completing an online questionnaire containing background information on, among other things, age, gender, marital status, finances and education. In addition, participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their own anxiety and behaviour as parents, as well as any anxiety symptoms in their children. It takes approximately 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire.
    
2. In addition, you will be asked to participate in an approximately 1-1.5 hour online interview about any anxiety and related problems in your child.
    
3. Interested participants will be contacted after completing the online questionnaire, and an online interview will be scheduled. You will then be informed of which group you have been selected to participate in. Read more about the groups after point 4.
    
4. One year later, both parts of the study will be repeated (questionnaire and online interview).

• Workshop group: If you are assigned to this group, you will be invited to take part in two workshops. You are expected to attend both workshops. Participation in the workshops will give you knowledge about how you can adapt your own thoughts and behaviour with just a few changes to support courageous behaviour in your child. The workshops take place in groups of approximately 8 other parents with anxiety and are led by a clinical psychologist with experience in both anxiety and cognitive behavioural therapy. The workshops take place in the afternoon from 13:00 to 16:00 in Copenhagen at the Centre for Anxiety, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353 Copenhagen K.
   
• Control group: If you are assigned to this group, you will receive a gift card for Nordisk Film worth DKK 400 and the material received by the workshop group. You will receive this after participating in the last part of the survey.