Intergenerational Transmission of Social Anxiety: The Role of Parents’ Fear of Negative Child Evaluation and Their Self-Referent and Child-Referent Interpretation Biases

Parents’ fear of negative evaluation (FNE), fear of negative child evaluation (FNCE; parents’ fear that their child is evaluated negatively by others), and self- and child-referent negative interpretation biases have been proposed to play a role in the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety. In this cross-sectional study, we tested whether parents’ self-reported FNE and self-referent interpretation bias, as well as their FNCE and child-referent interpretation bias, statistically mediated the relationship between parent social anxiety and parent-reported child social anxiety.

A total of 179 parents of 13–16-year-old adolescents completed questionnaires concerning own social anxiety, their FNE, and FNCE and their child’s social anxiety. Parents’ self- and child-referent interpretation biases were measured using scenario completion and memory recognition tasks.

Parents’ FNCE partially statistically mediated the relationship between parent and child social anxiety. Parents’ FNE and their self- and child-referent interpretation biases did, however, not statistically mediate this relationship.

Parents’ FNCE does, but their FNE and self- and child-referent interpretation biases do not seem to play a role in the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety. Hence, parents’ FNCE might be a promising target for clinical practice while designing therapies and interventions concerning child social anxiety.