Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Anxiety is a commonly experienced emotion encompassed by nervousness, worry, and often \naccompanied by physical symptoms such as increased heart rate (American Psychological \nAssociation, 2015). Anxiety disorders are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in \nboth children and adolescents (Reinecke, Dattilio, & Freeman, 2006). While previous research \non gender differences in anxiety throughout adulthood is considerable, there is little on gender \ndifferences among children. The present study examines protective factors of child anxiety, \nnamely self-esteem and coping strategies, from self-report data (Doyle, 2016) on children in \ngrades four and five to determine if gender differences exist. Maladaptive and adaptive coping \nstrategies were measured using the Coping Scale for Children and Youth (CSCY). Also, a \nrating of global self-esteem was measured using the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory \nRevised (SEI). While no gender differences were found on self-esteem, findings showed that \ngirls were significantly more likely than boys to draw on the coping strategy of “cognitive \navoidance”. Present findings are comparable to research in adult anxiety, such that women are \nmore likely to experience symptoms of anxiety than men, and more likely to engage in \navoidance behaviours (Bekker & van Mens-Verhulst, 2007; Kessler & Merikangas, 1994; \nMcLean, Asnaani, Litz, & Hofmann, 2011). However, some of the findings are inconsistent \nwith earlier adult studies. For example, boys use of problem solving strategies (Bahrami & \nYousefi, 2011). These results will expand the knowledge of anxiety, specifically among \nyounger children, and can inform the development and implementation of preventative \nprogramming.
Author: Alison M. Petten
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2789604512