Slobodin Ortal, Shorer Maayan, Friedman Zeltzer Gilor, Fennig Silvana
School of Education, Ben-Gurion University, 84105, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Department of Clinical Psychology and the Lior Tzfaty Mental Pain Center, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Heffer, Israel.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025 Jan;34(1):225-235. doi: 10.1007/s00787-024-02484-w. Epub 2024 Jun 4.
Selective mutism (SM) is a poorly understood condition, and debate continues regarding its etiology and classification. Research suggests that a genetic vulnerability may play a role in the development of the disorder which may be compounded by anxious and over-protective parenting. While previous studies supported the role of parenting styles in the development of SM, most of them examined child and parent factors in isolation. The current study examined how the interactions between child internalizing and externalizing behaviors (anxiety and oppositionality, respectively) and parenting styles (authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian) are associated with SM diagnosis. The study included 285 children aged 3-7 years (57.2% females), and their parents (66 children with SM and 219 typically developed children). Parents completed questionnaires about child social anxiety, oppositional behavior, SM severity, and their parenting style. Results showed that parents of children with SM reported lower levels of authoritative practices than those of typically developed children. We also found that child social anxiety and oppositionality moderated the effects of authoritative and authoritarian parenting practices on SM diagnosis. Our results suggest that child anxiety and oppositionality may explain the different susceptibility of children to adaptive and maladaptive parenting styles.
选择性缄默症（SM）是一种人们了解甚少的病症，关于其病因和分类的争论仍在继续。研究表明，遗传易感性可能在该病症的发展中起作用，而焦虑和过度保护的养育方式可能会使情况更加复杂。虽然先前的研究支持养育方式在选择性缄默症发展中的作用，但大多数研究都是单独考察儿童和父母因素。本研究考察了儿童内化行为和外化行为（分别为焦虑和对立行为）与养育方式（权威型、放任型和专制型）之间的相互作用如何与选择性缄默症诊断相关联。该研究纳入了285名3至7岁的儿童（57.2%为女性）及其父母（66名患有选择性缄默症的儿童和219名发育正常的儿童）。父母完成了关于儿童社交焦虑、对立行为、选择性缄默症严重程度以及他们养育方式的问卷。结果显示，患有选择性缄默症儿童的父母所报告的权威型养育方式水平低于发育正常儿童的父母。我们还发现，儿童社交焦虑和对立行为调节了权威型和专制型养育方式对选择性缄默症诊断的影响。我们的结果表明，儿童焦虑和对立行为可能解释了儿童对适应性和适应不良养育方式的不同易感性。
