Different Trajectories, Stable Links: Parental Worry and Child Internalizing Symptoms Over Time

While research has investigated the relation between (general) parent anxiety and child mental health outcomes, parental worry specific to one's children has often been overlooked. Therefore, this study examines longitudinal dynamics between parental worry and child internalizing symptoms. Data are from waves 3-13 (2010-2020) of the German Family Panel (pairfam). Parental worry and child symptoms were reported by parents and children, respectively, every two years. The sample includes children ages 8-15 (N_boys = 667, N_girls = 593) and their parents (N_fathers = 290, N_mothers = 646) living in Germany. Results show that initial levels of parental worry and child internalizing symptoms (ages 8-9) are related and remain stable over time, however, parent and child trajectories are not related. While children's symptoms tend to decrease, parental worry also decreases with little variation. The results do not provide evidence for bidirectional influences on each other's trajectories.