Abstract
Although diminished self-efficacy has been linked to childhood psychopathology, including depression, it has only recently been studied in relation to childhood anxiety disorders. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported anxiety in children who have been referred for an assessment and possible treatment of anxiety symptoms as well as a comparison group of non-referred children. A self-efficacy questionnaire for children and a childhood anxiety measure were administered to a group of children referred for assessment and treatment of a clinical anxiety disorder (n = 50) and a non-referred control group (n = 50). Results indicate that the two samples differed significantly on measures of emotional self-efficacy, but not in terms of self-reported anxiety or other self-efficacy domains. Potential explanations for observed findings are discussed, including the possibility that self-reports of emotional self-efficacy in children may vary by clinical or referral status, amongst those reporting higher levels of anxiety overall.
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Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank Molly Choate for her suggestions regarding the modification of the self-efficacy questionnaire.
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Landon, T.M., Ehrenreich, J.T. & Pincus, D.B. Self-efficacy: A Comparison Between Clinically Anxious and Non-referred Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 38, 31–45 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0038-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0038-1