POTENTIAL ROLE OF CHILD-REARING PRACTICES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

There is a vast literature describing the importance of childrearing f actors in the development of anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, mu ch of this work comes from diverse areas, has variable theoretical bas es, and makes use of a variety of methods, each with its own limitatio ns. Thus, conclusions about the state of the research are difficult to draw. This review pulls together literature related to childrearing f actors and anxiety and depression from a wide variety of areas. Many o f the studies are methodologically limited and results have been varia ble. Nevertheless, there is surprising consistency that suggests that rejection and control by parents may be positively related to later an xiety and depression. There is also more limited evidence to indicate that rejection may be more strongly associated with depression, wherea s control is more specifically associated with anxiety. Limitations of the research are highlighted and specific suggestions for future rese arch directions are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.