The Role of Mutual Communication in Reducing Anxiety Levels in Children Within the Family

Аннотация

Effective intrafamilial communication has long been recognised as a cornerstone of children’s socio- emotional development, yet its specific influence on childhood anxiety remains under-explored. This study investigates how reciprocal, emotionally attuned dialogue between parents and children moderates state–trait anxiety in middle-childhood (8-12 years). Drawing on attachment theory and family systems theory, we conducted a mixed-methods investigation combining a quasi-experimental communication-skills intervention with quantitative psychometric assessment and qualitative thematic analysis. One hundred and sixty four parent–child dyads across two urban public-school districts were randomly assigned to an eight-week dialogic coaching programme or to a wait-list control. Anxiety was measured with the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C) at baseline, post-intervention and three-month follow-up, while semi-structured interviews explored subjective changes in family climate. Results showed a significant reduction in both state and trait anxiety for children in the intervention group, with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.83 and 0.71 respectively) sustained at follow-up. Qualitative findings revealed enhanced emotional literacy, greater coherence in parent–child narratives and improved conflict-resolution strategies. These outcomes highlight the protective function of reciprocal communication against anxiety and endorse family-focused preventive strategies. Keywords: Child anxiety; parent–child communication; family systems; attachment; preventive intervention; STAI-C. that buffer against stress, whereas family systems Introduction: Anxiety disorders are among the most theory emphasises patterns of interaction, or “rules of prevalent mental-health concerns in childhood, engagement”, that shape individual affective affecting up to one in ten school-age children trajectories. In both frameworks, communication is not worldwide and often persisting into adolescence and merely a vehicle for transmitting information but a adulthood. While biological vulnerabilities and broader dynamic process through which meaning, safety and social stressors contribute to anxiety aetiology, the emotional regulation are co-constructed. immediate relational context in which children learn to interpret and regulate emotion—the family—remains Empirical evidence increasingly corroborates these a pivotal arena for both risk and resilience. Attachment conceptual claims. A large cross-sectional study of theory posits that consistent, sensitive parental Chinese adolescents found that open family responsiveness fosters secure internal working models communication predicted lower anxiety and American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research 17 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajsshr American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141) depression, even after accounting for household operationalising mutuality. Fidelity was monitored via violence and problematic internet use, suggesting a session checklists and 20 % video-based supervision. direct protective effect. Complementing these findings, Primary outcomes were children’s state and trait a systematic review of thirty-six studies concluded that anxiety, assessed through the Uzbek-validated version high-quality parent–child communication is of the STAI-C, which yields separate 20-item subscales. consistently associated with better adolescent mental- Internal consistency in the present study was high health outcomes, including reduced internalising (Cronbach’s α = 0.91 state; 0.88 trait). Secondary symptoms. More recently, a meta-analysis of parent- qualitative data were gathered through semi- focused interventions demonstrated that enhancing structured post-intervention interviews with 40 parents’ communicative responsiveness reliably randomly selected dyads (20 per group), exploring attenuates childhood anxiety across diverse cultural perceived changes in communicative routines and contexts. Region-specific data further indicate that emotional climate. parental dialogue quality predicts social-anxiety levels Baseline assessments occurred one week before the among Indonesian secondary-school students, while intervention. Post-tests were administered within one research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic week of programme completion, with follow-up three shows that functional family communication mitigates months later to gauge maintenance effects. Assessors the impact of external stress on junior-school pupils’ blind to group allocation conducted all measurements. anxiety. The university ethics board approved the protocol, and Despite these converging strands of evidence, families received small vouchers to offset travel costs. important gaps persist. Few studies adopt longitudinal Quantitative data were analysed in SPSS 29. Repeated- or experimental designs capable of disentangling measures ANOVA tested Group × Time effects on STAI- caus