Several investigations have found support for the role of behavioral inhibition in the etiology of childhood anxiety and depression disorders. However, nothing is known about how this relation extends to children with a chronic, life-threatening illness. The purpose of the current study was to examine behavioral inhibition and its relation to anxiety and depression symptoms among 30 adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). Adolescents with SCD and their primary caregivers completed instruments assessing demographic information, behavioral inhibition, and anxiety and depression symptoms. A majority of adolescents with SCD classified themselves as middle or low on behavioral inhibition. Adolescents with SCD who classified themselves as high on behavioral inhibition displayed higher levels of anxiety and depression than adolescents with SCD who classified themselves as low on behavioral inhibition; adolescents with SCD endorsing the middle behavioral inhibition category generally scored in between. These data extend previous work with healthy children and adolescents and suggest that early and continued assessment of behavioral inhibition may be important in preventing adverse psychological outcomes among a group that is already at risk for internalizing disorders.
Barakat, L.P., Lash, L.A., Lutz, M.J., & Nicolaou, D.C. (2006). Psychosocial adaptation of children and adolescents with sickle cell disease. In R. T. Brown (Ed.), Comprehensive handbook of childhood cancer and sickle cell disease: A biopsychosocial approach (pp. 471-495). New York: Oxford University Press.
2.
Biederman, J., Hirshfeld-Becker, D.R., Rosenbaum, J.F., Herot, C., Friedman, D., Snidman, N., et al. (2001). Further evidence of association between behavioral inhibition and social anxiety in children. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1673-1679.
3.
Biederman, J., Rosenbaum, J.F., Bolduc-Murphy, E.A., Faraone, S.V., Chaloff, J., Hirshfeld, D.R., et al. (1993). A 3-year follow-up of children with and without behavioral inhibition. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 814-821.
4.
Brown, R.T., Buchanan, I., Doepke, K., Eckman, J.R., Baldwin, K., Goonan, B., et al. (1993). Cognitive and academic functioning in children with sickle cell disease. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology , 22, 207-218.
5.
Chorpita, B.F., Moffitt, C.E., & Gray, J. (2005). Psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale in a clinical sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 309-322.
6.
Chorpita, B.F., Yim, L., Moffitt, C., Umemoto, L.A., & Francis, S.E. (2000). Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in children: A revised child anxiety and depression scale. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38, 835-855.
7.
Gartstein, M.A., Short, A.D., Vannatta, K., & Noll, R.B. (1999). Psychosocial adjustment of children with chronic illness: An evaluation of three models. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 20, 157-163.
8.
Gustafson, K.E., Bonner, M.J., Hardy, K.K., & Thompson, R.J. (2006). Biopsychosocial and developmental issues in sickle cell disease. In R. T. Brown (Ed.), Comprehensive handbook of childhood cancer and sickle cell disease: A biopsychosocial approach (pp. 431-448). New York: Oxford University Press.
9.
Ievers-Landis, C.E., Brown, R.T., Drotar, D., Bunke, V., Lambert, R., & Walker, A.A. (2001). Situational analysis of parenting problems for caregivers of children with sickle cell syndromes. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 22, 169-178.
10.
Kagan, J., Reznick, J.S., & Snidman, N. (1987). The physiology and psychology of behavioral inhibition in children. Child Development, 58, 1459-1473.
11.
Kell, R.S., Kliewer, W., Erickson, M.T., & Ohene-Frempong, K. (1998). Psychological adaptation of adolescents with sickle cell disease: Relations with demographic, medical, and family competence variables. Journal of Pediatric Psychology , 23, 301-312.
12.
Lee, E.J., Phoenix, D., Brown, W., & Jackson, B.S. (1997). A comparison study of children with sickle cell disease and their non-diseased siblings on hopelessness, depression, and perceived competence. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, 79-86.
13.
Lemanek, K., Ranalli, M.A., Green, K., Biega, C., & Lupia, C. (2003). Diseases of the blood. In M. C. Roberts (Ed.), Handbook of pediatric psychology (3rd ed., pp. 321-341). New York: Guilford Press.
14.
Muris, P., Meesters, C., & Spinder, M. (2003). Relationships between child- and parent-reported behavioural inhibition and symptoms of anxiety and depression in normal adolescents . Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 759-771.
15.
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., Schmidt, H., Gadet, B., & Bogie, N. (2001). Anxiety and depression as correlates of self-reported behavioural inhibition in normal adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 1051-1061.
16.
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., Wessel, I., & van de Ven, M. (1999). Psychopathological correlates of self-reported behavioural inhibition in normal children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 575-584.
17.
Spence, S.H. (1997). The structure of anxiety symptoms among children: A confirmatory factor analytic study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 280-297.
18.
Spence, S.H. (1998). A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 545-566.
19.
Tarnowski, K., & Brown, R.T. (2000). Psychological aspects of pediatric disorders. In M. Hersen & R. Ammerman (Eds.), Advanced abnormal child psychology (2nd ed., pp. 131-152). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
20.
Thompson, R.J., Armstrong, F.D., Link, C.L., Pegelow, C.H., Moser, F., & Wang, W.C. (2003). A prospective study of the relationship over time of behavior problems, intellectual functioning, and family functioning in children with sickle cell disease: A report from the Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 28, 59-65.
21.
Thompson, R.J., Gustafson, K.E., & Ware, R.E. (1998). Hematologic disorders. In R. T. Ammerman & J. V. Campo (Eds.), Handbook of pediatric psychology and psychiatry. Vol 2: Disease, injury, and illness (pp. 298-312). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
22.
Turner, S.M., Beidel, D.C., & Wolff, P.L. (1996). Is behavioral inhibition related to the anxiety disorders? Clinical Psychology Review, 16, 157-172.
23.
van Brakel, A.M.L., & Muris, P. (2006). A brief scale for measuring behavioral inhibition to the unfamiliar in children. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 79-84.
24.
Vasey, M.W., & Dadds, M.R. (2001). An introduction to the developmental psychopathology of anxiety. In M. W. Vasey & M. R. Dadds (Eds.), The developmental psychopathology of anxiety (pp. 3-26). New York: Oxford University Press.
25.
Wagner, J.L., Connelly, M., Brown, R.T., Taylor, L.C., Rittle, C., & Wall-Cloues, B. (2004). Predictors of social anxiety in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 11, 243-252.
