Short name of research group:
Contact person for group:
Email address:
Anxiety, Child
John R. Walker, Ph.D.
jwalker@cc.umanitoba.ca
Department members, collaborators from outside the department, and research staff are
listed below by project.
Main Research Projects or Interests:
1. What do parents want to know about treatments for child anxiety?
Department members affiliated with project: John Walker, Ph.D., Becki Cornock, Ph.D.,
Steven Feldgaier, Ph.D., Leanne Mak, Ph.D.
Collaborators from outside the department: Gary Altman, Ph.D., Department of
Psychiatry; Brian Cox, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry; Wendy Freeman, Ph.D.,
Department of Psychology; Diane Hiebert-Murphy, Ph.D., Faculty of Social Work;
Department of Psychology.
Research staff: Kate Walsh, B.A.(Honours), Kristin Reynolds, B.A. (Honours)
2. Knowledge Synthesis Grant: Knowledge synthesis: Finding the information
parents want to know about treatments for children's anxiety. Canadian Institute for
Health Research (CIHR), 01/10 – 12/10, $100,000.
Department members affiliated with project: John R. Walker, Ph.D. (principal
investigator), Gen Charette, Jitender Sareen, M.D., Patricia Furer, Ph.D., Stan Kutcher,
Ph.D., Bruce Sielski, Ruth Craig, M.S.W., Patricia Martens, Ph.D., Steven Feldgaier,
Ph.D., Gary Altman, M.D., & Michael Moffatt, M.D.
Research staff: Caelin White, M.A., Rachel Ganaden, Ryan Reyes, B.A. (Honours),
Bradley Zacharias, Ph.D.
3. Developing a web-based program to assist parents in helping the anxious child: A
public health approach for prevention and early intervention.
Department members affiliated with group: John R. Walker, Ph.D. (co-principal
investigator), Patricia Furer, Ph.D., Steven Feldgaier, Ph.D., Norah Vincent, Ph.D.
Collaborators from outside the department: Dalhousie University, Halifax: Patrick
McGrath, Ph.D. (co-principal investigator), Anita Unruh, Ph.D., Carolyn Watters, Ph.D.
Recent Presentations:
Cornock, B.L., Hiebert-Murphy, D., Freeman, W., Mills, R., Bow, J., & Walker, J. R.
On the right track: What strategies do parents of anxious preschool children use to help
their child? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Behavioral
and Cognitive Therapies, Chicago, November 2006.
Zacharias, B., Freeman, W., & Walker, J. Parents’ preferences for information about
treatment for child anxiety. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association
for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, November 2007.
Wright, K.D., Walker, J.R., & Furer, P. Health anxiety in children: Phenomenology
and treatment. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Behavioral
and Cognitive Therapies, Orlando, Florida, November 2008.
Reynolds, K., Walker J., Leonhart, M. and the Mobilizing Minds Research Group. How
well do websites concerning children’s anxiety answer parents’ questions about treatment
choices? Paper presented at the International Conference on the Use of the Internet in the
Mental Health Field, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 14, 2009.
Mak, L., Walker, J.R., Hiebert-Murphy, D., & Altman, G. Making treatment decisions
for child anxiety: What types of information, amounts of information, and sources of
information do parents prefer? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, New York, November 2009.
Walker, J.R. Mental health promotion: The educational or school psychologist’s role.
Invited address, Canadian Psychological Association Annual Conference, Winnipeg,
June 2010.
Recent Publications:
Chapters:
Farrell, L.J., Turner, C., Donovan, C. & Walker, J.R. (2011). Anxiety disorders in
children with chronic health conditions. In Eric Storch & Dean McKay (Eds.).
Handbook of child and adolescent anxiety disorders. New York: Springer.
Mallin, B., Walker, J.R., & Levin, B. (2012). Mental health promotion in the schools:
Supporting resilience in children and youth. In S. Prince-Embury & D. Saklofske (Eds.).
Resilience in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: Translating Research into Practice.
New York, NY: Springer.
Papers:
Mak, L., Hiebert-Murphy, D., Walker, J. R., & Altman, G. (2014). Parents’ Decision
Making and Their Information Needs Concerning Treatments for Child Anxiety:
Implications for Family-Centered Practice. The Journal of Family Social Work, 17(1),
51-67.
Reynolds, K., Walker J., Walsh, K. & the Mobilizing Minds Research Group. (2014,
in press). How well do websites concerning children’s anxiety answer parents’ questions
about treatment choices? Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry.