1.Relationship between Parental Emotional Styles and Family Values to Anxiety Level among Primary School Children
Siti Fatimah Ab Ghaffar ; Ghazali Ahmad ; Mazne Ibrahim ; Nur Dalila Mat Yussof ; Nur Hafizah Muhammad ; Ramli Musa ; Irma Izani Mohamad Isa
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2023;19(No.3):302-309
Introduction: Childhood anxiety is one of the common mental health problems in children. Untreated childhood
anxiety will lead to a higher risk of developing mental health problems in adulthood. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental emotional styles and family values to anxiety level among primary school
children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a selected primary school in Kelantan, Malaysia. A set
of questionnaires consisted of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale–Parents’ Report (RCADS-P 25), the
Parental Emotional Style Questionnaire (PESQ), and the Asian Family Characteristics Scale (AFCS) was used for assessing anxiety, parental emotional styles, and family values, respectively. Data were collected via an online survey
using Google Form, and were analysed using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to determine the factors associated
with childhood anxiety. The significance value was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 150 parents of primary school
children from the selected school was involved in this study. The majority of respondents were females (82.0%), married (94.7%), hold a degree (66.7%), and were working in the government sector (60.0%). Most of the respondents’
child were twelve years old (20.7%) and males (62%). Based on the MLR, emotional dismissing parental style (p =
0.025) and family values (p = 0.016) were significantly associated with anxiety in these children. Conclusion: Emotional dismissing parental style and family values were significant predictors of anxiety in primary school children.
Future intervention research on childhood anxiety is needed.