Anxiety and threat perception abnormalities in normal children

The current study examined the relationship between childhood anxiety and t hreat perception abnormalities. Children (N = 105) were exposed to stories reflecting three types of anxiety: social anxiety, separation anxiety, and generalized anxiety. From children's reactions to the stories, a number of threat perception indices were derived. Children's level of anxiety was ass essed by means of questionnaires and a structured diagnostic interview. Res ults indicated that high levels of anxiety, as measured by questionnaires a nd interview, were accompanied by a high frequency of threat perception, hi gh ratings of threat, a high frequency of threatening interpretations, high levels of negative feelings and cognitions, and an early detection of thre at. Furthermore, results seemed to suggest that threat perception abnormali ties were mediated by children 's general level of anxiety rather than by l evels of specific anxiety symptoms.