The Course of Childhood Anxiety Symptoms: Developmental Trajectories and Child-Related Factors in Normal Children

This three-wave longitudinal study explored developmental trajectories for various types of childhood anxiety symptoms (i.e.,
specific fears, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and separation anxiety) and examined how these trajectories were associated
with several factors thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety. Parents of a community sample of 224 children
aged 4 to 11 years repeatedly completed a standardized questionnaire of anxiety symptoms during a 2-year period. At Time 1,
parents also filled out scales for measuring children’s level of behavioral inhibition (BI), internalizing and externalizing
symptoms, and prosocial behaviors, while an interview was conducted with children to assess Theory-of-Mind (TOM) ability.
Growth Mixture Modeling identified multiple developmental trajectories in childhood anxiety symptoms of which the ‘stable-low’
or ‘stable-medium’ reflected the normative trajectories. Further, multinomial regression analyses indicated that the higher
developmental trajectories of anxiety were associated with higher levels of BI and internalizing symptoms at Time 1. In sum,
results show heterogeneity in the development of anxiety symptoms and underline the importance of early prevention programs
for children at high risk for developing an anxiety disorder.