Investigating the Predictive Role of Thinking Styles and Ineffective Parenting Attitudes on Child Anxiety

Background and aim:theoretical models emphasize the role of parenting behaviors in the growth andsurvival of child anxiety. one of the most important predictors of parental behavior that has so far not beenwidely studied in children's anxiety disorders is parent's knowledge and beliefs. the purpose of this studywas to investigate the predictive role of mothers' thinking styles and their parenting attitudes on childanxiety.methods: for this purpose, 234 mothers of 6 years old children (girls and boys) were selected from preschoolcenters in mashhad through cluster sampling and they filled up sternberg thinking styles questionnaire,adult adolescent parenting list (aapi-2), and a spence children's anxiety scale questionnaire (scas)and pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data.results: the results showed that second-order thinking styles of mothers, especially conservative thinkingstyle, positively predict child anxiety. inappropriate expectations of the child and the lack of empathy withthe child's needs predict the child's anxiety positively.conclusion: combining the style of conservative thinking with inappropriate expectations and the lack ofempathy with the needs of the child, better predicts anxiety.