Parenting Style and Anxiety Symptoms A Moderated-Mediation Analysis of Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions and Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

Anxiety symptoms often relate to perceived negative parenting styles inherited from one's parents, impacting cognitive processes in interpersonal relationships. This study investigates the association between anxiety symptoms, parenting styles, and interpersonal cognitive distortions in individuals with anxiety disorders compared to healthy controls. The study involved 164 adult participants—82 with diagnosed anxiety disorders and 82 without psychiatric diagnoses, comprising 42 (26%) males and 122 (74%) females, aged 18-60 years (mean age = 30.5±8.84). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Young Parenting Inventory, the Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. The anxiety disorder group exhibited heightened levels of anxiety symptoms, interpersonal cognitive distortions, and specific maternal parenting styles (overprotective/unbounded, conditional/achievement-oriented, and pessimistic/anxious), as well as a paternal resistant/suppressive parenting style, in contrast to the control group. Interpersonal cognitive distortions were identified as mediators in the relationships between overprotective/unbounded maternal parenting and anxiety, as well as closed to change/repressing paternal parenting and anxiety. However, the diagnosis of anxiety disorder did not moderate the relationship between parenting styles and cognitive distortions. These findings emphasize the importance of targeting interpersonal cognition in treating and preventing anxiety disorders, especially in individuals with overprotective/unbounded mothers and resistant/suppressive fathers.

Keywords

• Anxiety Disorder
• Parenting Style
• Cognitive Distortions
• Relationships

Ebeveyn Tarzı ve Anksiyete Belirtileri: Kişilerarası Bilişsel Çarpıtmalar ve Anksiyete Bozukluğunun Düzenlenmiş Aracılık Analizi

Öz

Anksiyete belirtileri, kişinin ebeveynlerinden miras aldığı algılanan olumsuz ebeveynlik tarzlarıyla sıklıkla ilişkili bulunmuştur ve bu durum kişilerarası ilişkilerde bilişsel süreçleri etkilemektedir. Bu çalışma, anksiyete bozukluğu olan bireylerde anksiyete belirtileri, ebeveynlik tarzları ve kişilerarası bilişsel çarpıtmalar arasındaki ilişkiyi sağlıklı kontrol grubu ile karşılaştırarak araştırmaktadır. Çalışmaya 164 yetişkin katılımcı dahil edilmiş; yaşları 18-60 arasında değişen (ortalama yaş = 30.5±8.84) bu katılımcıların 82'si anksiyete bozukluğu teşhisi almış ve 82'si psikiyatrik tanı almamış kişilerden oluşmaktadır. Katılımcıların 42'si (%26) erkek ve 122'si (%74) kadındır. Katılımcılar demografik bilgi formu, Young Ebeveynlik Ölçeği, Kişilerarası Bilişsel Çarpıtmalar Ölçeği ve Beck Anksiyete Envanterini doldurmuşlardır. Anksiyete bozukluğu grubunun, kontrol grubuna kıyasla daha yüksek düzeyde anksiyete belirtileri, kişilerarası bilişsel çarpıtmalar ve belirli anne (aşırı koruyucu/evhamlı, koşullu/başarı odaklı ve kötümser/endişeli) ve baba (değişime kapalı/duygularını bastıran) ebeveynlik tarzları sergilediği bulunmuştur. Kişilerarası bilişsel çarpıtmaların, aşırı koruyucu/evhamlı anne ebeveynliği ile anksiyete; değişime kapalı/duygularını bastıran baba ebeveynliği ile anksiyete arasındaki ilişkilerde aracı rol oynadığı tespit edilmiştir. Ancak, anksiyete bozukluğu tanısının, ebeveynlik tarzları ve bilişsel çarpıtmalar arasındaki ilişkiyi değiştirmediği görülmüştür. Bu bulgular, özellikle aşırı koruyucu/evhamlı anneler ve değişime kapalı/duygularını bastıran babalarla büyüyen bireylerdeki anksiyete bozukluklarının tedavisinde, kişilerarası bilişleri hedeflemenin önemini vurgulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Anksiyete Bozukluğu
• Ebeveynlik Tarzı
• Bilişsel Çarpıtmalar
• İlişkiler

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