Effortful Control Moderates the Relation Between Negative Emotionality and Child Anxiety and Depressive Symptom Severity in Children with Anxiety Disorders

The present study investigated the interactive effect of reactive (negative emotionality) and regulatory (effortful control) aspects of temperament in the prediction of child anxiety and depressive symptoms. Clinically anxious children and their mothers completed a battery of questionnaires that included self- and mother-ratings of child effortful control, negative emotionality, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the moderating effect of effortful control on the relation between negative emotionality and child anxiety and depressive symptom severity. The interaction between negative emotionality and effortful control was statistically significant and simple slopes revealed that as effortful control increased, the relationship between negative emotionality and anxiety and depressive symptoms weakened. Among anxious children high in negative emotionality, greater effortful control was related to less severe anxiety and depressive symptoms. Future work should evaluate whether targeting effortful control leads to reductions in internalizing symptoms among clinically anxious youth.