The proposed research tests the hypothesis that maternal anxiety is transmitted to children prior to and during stressful dental procedures. Specifically, the research seeks to clarify the conditions under which maternal anxiety and child during their children's dental treatment. Previous literature in both of these areas does not yet permit firm conclusions. A new experimental paradigm is used to test predictions derived from contemporary theory and research on social learning and emotional development, including the prediction that low fear mothers reduce their children's distress. In addition, by identifying specific maternal behaviors that are associated with increased maternal anxiety, the proposed research seeks to elucidate the mechanism of covariation between maternal anxiety and child distress. Sixty 3-4 year old pediatric dental patients and their mothers will serve as subjects. Maternal trait, dental, and state anxiety will be assessed by questionnaire. The mother-child interaction will be assessed by questionnaire and by videotaped observation of the mother and child during a 15-minute waiting period prior to treatment. Half of the mothers will be randomly assigned to be present and examination. The child's behavior will be videotaped during treatment for later coding using a standard observational measure of distress. Psychophysiological (heart rate, respiration rate, and vagal tone) measures of the child's distress will also be obtained prior to and during treatment. Children's tendency toward fearfulness will be assessed, and mothers' and clinicians' behavior during treatment will be monitored, in order to provide additional information about the factors that the role of maternal anxiety in children's distress during dental treatment and to address the continuing question of the effects on children's distress of parental presence during treatment.
