(PS9-C55) Social and Adaptive Functioning in Children with Anxiety Disorders: The Buffering Effects of Effortful Control

Introduction: Effortful control – the ability to restrain impulsive reactions in favor of more adaptive responses – has been identified as a protective factor against childhood anxiety (Raines et al., 2019; Rothbart & Bates, 2006). Yet, the extent to which effortful control may be protective in terms of anxious children’s social and adaptive functioning remains unexplored. To fill this gap, present study examined the moderating role of effortful control in the association between anxiety and depression symptom severity and social and adaptive functioning in a sample of clinically anxious youth. It was hypothesized that more severe anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively, would be associated with poorer global and individual (i.e., school performance, peer relationships, family relationships, and home functioning) indices of social and adaptive functioning. It was also expected that effortful control would moderate the association between anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively, and both global and individual indices of social and adaptive functioning. Specifically, it was predicted that more severe anxiety and depressive symptoms would be associated with poorer global and individual indices of social and adaptive functioning among anxious youth with lower (vs. higher) effortful control.

Method: Clinically anxious youth (N = 105) ages 8-to-12 years (M = 10.07 years, SD = 1.22) completed a battery of questionnaires assessing effortful control (Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire; EATQ), anxiety and depression symptoms (Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale; RCADS) and social and adaptive functioning (Child and Adolescent Social and Adaptive Functioning Scale; CASAFS) as part of a baseline assessment.

Results: More severe anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with poorer global and individual indices of social and adaptive functioning, and lower effortful control. Effortful control significantly moderated the relationship between child anxiety symptoms and peer relationships (F_1,100 = 5.80, p < 0.05), such that child anxiety symptom severity was associated with poorer peer relationships among children with lower effortful control (b = -0.04, SE = 0.02, [-0.07, -0.01], p < 0.05), but not average or higher effortful control. Similarly, effortful control significantly moderated the relationship between child depression symptoms and peer relationships (F_1,100 = 5.60, p < 0.05), such that child depression symptom severity was associated with poorer peer relationships among children with lower effortful control (b = -0.20, SE = 0.07, [-0.33, -0.07], p < 0.01), but not average or higher effortful control.  Moderation analyses were not significant in relation to the other domains of social and adaptive functioning.

Conclusions: The negative effects of childhood anxiety and depression symptoms on peer relationships may be buffered by the presence of moderate-to-high levels of effortful control. Future studies should investigate the mechanisms through which high effortful control confers protection in the peer domain.