Understanding and Targeting Parental Accommodation of Anxiety in Young Children

Kagan, Elana R. PhD
D'Amico, Alayna A. BA
Frank, Hannah E. PhD

From the Child Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital (ERK, AAD), Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (ERK); and Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (HEF).

Disclosure: The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Address correspondence to Elana R. Kagan, PhD, Child Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Warren 719, Boston, MA 02114; email: [email protected].

Psychiatric Annals 55(4):p e86-e90, April 01, 2025. | DOI: 10.3928/00485713-20250207-02

Parental accommodation is well documented among families of youth with anxiety and impacts the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety. Notably, although parents play a central role in treatment for young children, few studies have explored parental accommodation in anxious children below the age of eight. In this article, we review the research on parental accommodation and highlight areas where more research is needed in this younger population. We conclude by providing strategies that health care providers may use to address parental accommodation to support the treatment of young children with anxiety. [Psychiatr Ann. 2025;55(4):e86–e90.]