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The Nature of Feared Outcome Representations in Anxious and Non-anxious Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2016

Marilyn A Campbell ,
Ronald M Rapee  and
Susan H Spence
Marilyn A Campbell*
Affiliation:
Education Queensland
Ronald M Rapee
Affiliation:
School of Behavioural Sciences, Macquarie University
Susan H Spence
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Queensland
*
3 Hoopla Hannah Ct, Yatala 4207, worrybusters@aol.com
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Abstract

The present study examined whether wording changes in a self-report anxiety scale for children were better able to distinguish anxious from non-anxious children than traditional wording. Furthermore, the study explored whether phrasing the items as either stimulus or consequences (outcomes) of events, would give a better assessment of fear and anxiety in children and adolescents. The four questionnaires were administered to an anxiety-disordered group and a non-anxious group of children aged from 6 to 15 years. Anxious children reported that they thought more about negative outcomes than non-anxious children. However, there were no differences in scores between the two groups using stimulus items. All children regarded negative physical consequences as aversive. However, anxious children reported thinking more frequently about negative physical outcomes than did non-anxious children. All children also thought about negative social outcomes. However, anxiety-disordered children rated negative social outcomes as more aversive than did non-anxious children. None of the four measures discriminated between the different anxiety disorders. Implications for children's self-report data on anxiety are discussed.

Type
Research papers
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 11 , November 2001 , pp. 85 - 100
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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