Caregiver Socialization of Reappraisal and Children’s Cognitive Flexibility Jointly Predict Latinx Children’s Anxiety

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies 2022-05, Vol.31 (5), p.1404-1414
• Main Authors: Quiñones-Camacho, Laura E., Davis, Elizabeth L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Caregivers; Child and School Psychology; Childhood; Children; Children & youth; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Cognitive flexibility; Cognitive skills; Cognitive strategies; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Flexibility; Hispanic Americans; Individual differences; Mexican Americans; Original Paper; Psychology; Psychopathology; Social Sciences; Socialization; Sociology; Symptoms; Thinking Skills
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-021-02145-5

Anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of psychopathology in childhood and represent a particularly concerning issue for Latinx children. Research on adults and children with anxiety suggests that the effective regulation of emotion is associated with fewer symptoms. The current study used data from 78 Latinx (predominantly Mexican American) 8- to 11-year-old children ( M  = 9.91; SD  = 1.14; 50% girls) and one caregiver to explore regulatory processes that may characterize emerging psychopathology in Latinx families. Caregivers reported on their use of reappraisal and their child’s anxiety symptoms. Children completed a cognitive flexibility task and self-reported their anxiety symptoms. More extensive caregiver use of reappraisal was associated with fewer child anxiety symptoms (an average of caregiver- and child-report). As expected, this effect was qualified by children’s cognitive flexibility. Caregiver reappraisal was associated with anxiety symptoms only for children with greater cognitive flexibility, highlighting the importance of individual differences in cognitive skills underlying children’s mastery of sophisticated cognitive strategies. Findings suggest the importance of considering both caregiver and child regulatory processes to improve understanding of anxiety symptoms among Latinx children. Highlights This study investigated whether caregiver and child regulatory processes jointly predict Latinx children’s anxiety symptoms. Greater use of reappraisal by a caregiver was associated with fewer symptoms for Latinx children high in cognitive flexibility. Findings suggest the importance of considering caregiver and child processes to understand anxiety symptoms among Latinx children.