Teacher Awareness of Anxiety Symptoms in Children

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine which anxiety symptoms in children are associated with teacher awareness and whether teacher awareness differs according to student age and gender. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) was completed by 453 second through fifth grade students and teachers nominated the three most anxious students in their classrooms. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted with MASC scale scores as the dependent variables. Children identified by teachers as anxious had significantly higher levels of overall anxiety, physiological anxiety, social anxiety, and separation anxiety. Overall, teacher awareness did not differ based on student age or gender. KeywordsChildren; Anxiety; Teachers; Assessment In the assessment of psychological symptomatology in children, a multi-method, multiinformant approach is typically recommended. In addition to parent-and child-report, teacherreport may also be solicited. Such a report is beneficial as teachers have the opportunity to observe children in a variety of settings and situations that parents and clinicians do not. In fact, Stanger and Lewis [1] reported that teacher ratings of externalizing behavior problems served as the best predictor of referral for mental health services.Although much attention has been given to teachers' awareness of externalizing behavior problems, research on teacher awareness of internalizing problems such as anxiety is very limited [2]. Unlike externalizing behavior problems, mild to moderate anxiety is unlikely to be associated with disruptive classroom behavior. As a result, some have suggested that problems with anxiety go unnoticed by teachers [2]. Sharing this opinion, Muris and Meesters [3] reported that "children's problems with anxiety in most cases remain largely hidden" in the classroom environment (p. 589). In a survey of mental health professionals, teachers' reports of internalizing symptoms were judged as only "slightly useful." [4] The study did not examine why mental health providers rated teachers as they did.While previous research has not evaluated the validity of teacher nomination in the identification of anxious children, studies have examined inter-rater agreement among parents, teachers, and children in the domain of internalizing problems. If inter-rater agreement was consistently high (especially between child-and teacher-report), one could conclude that It is also not known whether teacher identification of anxiety in their students is moderated by child characteristics such as age and gender. The Achenbach et al. [7]meta-analysis reported that, in general, cross-informant agreement was higher for 6-to 11-year-olds than adolescents.Conversely, Kolko and Kazdin [6] reported that, of a range of variables, only child age accounted for differences between teachers and children in their ratings of child internalizing symptoms with younger age associated with poorer agreement. Epkins [8] found no effect of age, sex, socioeconomic statues (SES), or race on teacher-child con...

It’s Not Just the Squeaky Wheels That Need the Oil: Examining Teachers’ Views on the Disparity Between Referral Rates for Students with Internalizing Versus Externalizing Problems

“…The issues associated with mental health in rural areas were particularly concerning, especially School Mental Health (2011) 3:222-235 231 considering the lack of mental health resources and research addressing the mental health of adolescents from rural areas in South Australia (Judd, 2001;Papandrea, Winefield, & Livingstone, 2010). Similarly to comparable research that has been inconsistent regarding the effect of student-and teacher-related variables, such as age, gender, and concern for academic progress, and teacher referral behavior (Jackson & King, 2004;Lane et al, 2004;Layne et al, 2006;Pearcy et al, 1993;Severson et al, 2007), the results of the present study concerning teacher-related variables, e.g., the number of years spent teaching; gender; or age were not significantly associated with teacher referral-related attitudes and behaviors. This suggests that further study investigating this phenomenon is required to establish any possible relationships.…”

“…For instance, the most commonly reported biases include students' age and gender, and the differing behavioral and performance expectations that exist among teachers (Jackson & King, 2004;Lane, Givner, & Pierson, 2004;Severson et al, 2007). Conversely, Pearcy, Clopton, and Pope (1993) and Layne, Bernstein, and March (2006) found that teacher ratings of need for referral did not differ for boys and girls, and there was no gender effect on the teachers' reported referral experience.…”

Self-Disclosure and Mental Health Service Use in Socially Anxious Adolescents

“…Thus far, research on the ability of school personnel to recognize social anxiety in youth is inconclusive and has mostly focused on teachers. One study showed that teachers’ ratings were concordant with elementary-aged students’ self-reported social anxiety (Layne et al, 2006), while another study failed to demonstrate teachers’ ability to identify social anxiety in their students (Weeks et al, 2009). Further research is necessary to clarify teachers’ competence in identifying anxiety and to shed light on the ability of more highly trained school personnel (e.g., guidance counselors, social workers, nurses, etc) to identify internalizing disorders and refer youth to appropriate services.…”

Generalized anxiety disorder in a nonclinical sample of children: Symptom presentation and predictors of impairment

“…For additional information on the screening phase of the study please refer to Layne, Bernstein, and March (2006). Of the 208 students, 101 completed the additional screening (107 were not interested, ineligible, or unreachable), which included separate administrations of the ADIS to the child and parent by the same interviewer.…”