THE IMPACT OF ANXIOUS AND NON-ANXIOUS PARENTS ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive and persistent anxiety or fear and are associated with a range of behavioral disturbances. Most parents experience anxiety from time to time, parenting anxiety can affect the quality of their life or their child’s life. The regulation of emotions and behavior is crucial to the healthy early development of children, where they interact with the environment to adjust emotions, cope with frustrations and stress. Parents who are depressed and out of tune with their child’s needs and emotions leave the child unsupported, left to manage their own anger, sadness, and fear, and are left to their own immature repertoire of behaviors. To make a comparative analysis of the impact of anxiety on the mental health of children of anxious and non-anxious parents.A cross-sectional transfer analytic study was conducted. 300 students were analyzed, in the territory of Gostivar, as well as their parents. “Psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders” (SCARED) - child version was used to examine anxiety in children, and it measures it in 4 domains (panic, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety and school phobia).A statistically significant difference was confirmed in the distribution of students without anxiety, with possible anxiety disorder, and with anxiety disorder, between parents with and without anxiety (p<0.0001). Anxious parents more often than parents who did not manifest anxiety have children with a possible anxiety disorder and with a convincing result for anxiety disorderconsequently. Anxious parents significantly more often than parents without anxiety had children with panic disorder.Regardless of children’s specific symptoms, anxiety can have a negative effect on their thoughts, emotions, and physical health.Anxiety runs in families, with recent analysis showing that children of anxious parents are twice as likely to have anxiety problems than children of nonanxious parents. The results of the research showed a significant impact of parents’ anxiety on children’s health.