The Relation between Risk Perception and Anxiety in Youth: an Investigation Using a Novel Developmentally Tailored Measure

Adults with anxiety have demonstrated elevated risk perception, but the relation between risk perception and anxiety in youth is unclear. The lack of developmentally tailored risk perception measures may be hindering the accurate detection of the relation between these constructs in youth. We sought to better characterize the relation between two components of risk perception - probability and cost estimates - to anxiety in youth, using a novel measure of youth risk perception (P-RISK; Perception of Risk Interactive Scale for Kids). In a community sample of 60 youth (ages 6 to12), the P-RISK, as a measure of risk perception, was feasible, easy to administer, and able to convey concepts of probability to youth. Anxiety symptomatology in youth was uniquely related to their perception of the likelihood of anxiety-provoking events. There is preliminary, though mixed, evidence of correlations between youth anxiety level and their cost estimates of anxiety-provoking events. There was also preliminary evidence that the relations between anxiety and youth estimates of probability and cost varied by developmental level. These findings highlight the potential clinical utility of using a developmentally tailored risk perception measure to enhance the assessment and treatment of youth anxiety.