Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
222,075 studies31 sourcesUpdated 45 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma

Parental Threats and Anxiety Severity in Trauma-Exposed Adolescents: The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity

  • Dania Y. Amarneh1
  • Mallory R. Cotton1
  • Emily L. Mallin2
  • Andres G. Viana2
  1. 1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, USA
  2. 2Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Introduction: The present investigation examined associations between parental threatening behaviors (i.e., threats of rejection, abandonment, and/or punishment), anxiety sensitivity (i.e., the belief that physiological sensations of anxiety are dangerous and signal imminent catastrophe), and anxiety symptom severity in a diverse sample of trauma-exposed adolescents in acute psychiatric inpatient care. We hypothesized that greater exposure to parental threatening behaviors would be associated with more severe anxiety symptoms via heightened anxiety sensitivity. Method: Participants were 50 trauma-exposed adolescents ages 12 to 17 years (52.0% female; Mage = 15.1 years; 56% ethnic minority) in inpatient care who completed measures of parental threatening behaviors, anxiety sensitivity, and anxiety symptom severity. Results: Statistically significant indirect effects were found between parental threatening behaviors and anxiety symptom severity through anxiety sensitivity (ab: β = 0.15, SE = 0.06, 95%CI [0.03, 0.28]). Post-hoc exploratory analyses of the anxiety sensitivity facets revealed similar findings. Conclusion: Anxiety sensitivity partially explained the association between parental threatening behaviors and anxiety symptom severity in a trauma-exposed sample of adolescents in psychiatric inpatient care. Findings revealed that parental threatening behaviors are associated with anxiety psychopathology in this population and demonstrate the potential utility of evaluating anxiety sensitivity-focused interventions for this population.

Related

  1. Characterizing Rejection Sensitivity in Autistic Adolescents and Implications for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms
    Elika Parab, Colleen Sbeglia, Vana Matevosian +2
    PsyArXivPreprintCC0Full textPsychiatry & mental healthOSF
  2. Association of low parental mental health literacy with adolescent depression and anxiety: a large-scale cross-sectional study in Guangdong, China
    Xing Wang, Qing Wan, Yanbin Liu +8
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textPsychiatry & mental healthCrossref
  3. Understanding parental influences on adolescents’ vaccination in Italy
    Vincenza Sansone, Giorgia Della Polla, Silvia Angelillo +2
    BMC Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Epidemiology & public healthCrossref
  4. Association Between Parental Nativity and Mental Health Among U.S. Adolescents: Findings from the National Health Interview Survey, 2022 - 2024
    S. Ndhlovu, D. S. Zhang, L. Li +1
    medRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textEpidemiology & public healthmedRxiv
  5. Parental perceptions of childhood anxiety and mental health support needs in Czechia using the consolidated framework for implementation research
    Marie Polášková, Marta Fišerová, Anna Kågström
    BMC Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Epidemiology & public healthCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{amarneh2026parental,
  title = {{Parental Threats and Anxiety Severity in Trauma-Exposed Adolescents: The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity}},
  author = {Dania Y. Amarneh and Mallory R. Cotton and Emily L. Mallin and Andres G. Viana},
  journal = {Journal of Child \& Adolescent Trauma},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1007/s40653-026-00938-8},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00938-8},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Parental Threats and Anxiety Severity in Trauma-Exposed Adolescents: The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity
AU  - Dania Y. Amarneh
AU  - Mallory R. Cotton
AU  - Emily L. Mallin
AU  - Andres G. Viana
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
DO  - 10.1007/s40653-026-00938-8
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00938-8
AB  - Introduction: The present investigation examined associations between parental threatening behaviors (i.e., threats of rejection, abandonment, and/or punishment), anxiety sensitivity (i.e., the belief that physiological sensations of anxiety are dangerous and signal imminent catastrophe), and anxiety symptom severity in a diverse sample of trauma-exposed adolescents in acute psychiatric inpatient care. We hypothesized that greater exposure to parental threatening behaviors would be associated with more severe anxiety symptoms via heightened anxiety sensitivity. Method: Participants were 50 trauma-exposed adolescents ages 12 to 17 years (52.0% female; Mage = 15.1 years; 56% ethnic minority) in inpatient care who completed measures of parental threatening behaviors, anxiety sensitivity, and anxiety symptom severity. Results: Statistically significant indirect effects were found between parental threatening behaviors and anxiety symptom severity through anxiety sensitivity (ab: β = 0.15, SE = 0.06, 95%CI [0.03, 0.28]). Post-hoc exploratory analyses of the anxiety sensitivity facets revealed similar findings. Conclusion: Anxiety sensitivity partially explained the association between parental threatening behaviors and anxiety symptom severity in a trauma-exposed sample of adolescents in psychiatric inpatient care. Findings revealed that parental threatening behaviors are associated with anxiety psychopathology in this population and demonstrate the potential utility of evaluating anxiety sensitivity-focused interventions for this population.
SN  - 1936-1521
SN  - 1936-153X
ER  -