Treatment Of Anxiety Among Children And Adolescents

Childhood anxiety is quickly becoming the most challenging of all childhood problems. As the root of most problems, anxiety covers a long range of stressors that spread quickly if not treated or relieved early in life. Anxious feelings in children varies from children of all backgrounds. All people feel anxious at one point or another, and it is only when children are affected daily and unable to be calmed when people should become concerned. Many times, children are feeling overwhelmed and cannot express themselves or struggle to understand his/her feelings. Social and emotional development then plays a big part when facing concerns like anxiety in a young childhood environment. Teachers and caregivers need to take a step back and focus on what the child needs rather than what he/she can do to make children calm down. Through interventions, patience, and caring teachers, a young child does not need to be known as "The Child Who is Anxious", he/she can just be a child.

Current epidemiological data suggest anxiety disorders are the most prevalent type of childhood psychological disorders. Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD is described by excessive worrying about a variety of events, including those in the past, present, and future. Children with this disorder worry excessively about a number of issues, including past conversations or actions, upcoming events, school, family health, their own health, competence in sports or academics, and world events. Typically, children experiencing such excessive worry find it difficult to control the amount of time that they worry, and the worrying interferes in their daily life. Sometimes children don’t realize their anxiety is excessive considering the situation.

Jordan was administered three assessment measures to help the clinician identify the severity of his anxiety-based symptoms. The Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale main purpose is to provide an overall view of Jordan’s self-perception. This scale will assist the therapist by finding problematic areas that will be addressed in treatment. Jordan’s self-reported baseline was 39. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) focuses on assessing the severity of anxiety symptoms. Jordan’s self- reported baseline is a 39. The CES-DC scale assess for depression and Jordan’s self-reported baseline is 17. Based off the self-reported measures Jordan does not meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis due to the time (duration)of the symptoms. Jordan has displayed the requisite symptoms for less than 6 months. He did however, meet criteria for subclinical generalized anxiety disorder. The data from the anxiety and negative affectivity questioners indicate that Jordan has moderate but not severe levels of discomfort. Additionally, Jordan’s level of self-esteem was good and his level of depression was low. Jordan’s 12-week treatment and sessions will include the following; 1-2 engagement, 3-4 psycho-education about anxiety with Jordan and his parents, 5-6 exposure element techniques, 7-8 relation techniques, 9-10 positive self-talk, and 11-12 termination.

While anxiety disorders seem to be among the most common of childhood disorders, most children with a diagnosable anxiety disorder are not receiving any assistance (Stallard et al., 2014). Further, many studies indicate that anxiety disorders in children do not tend to dissipate without treatment; rather, these disorders continue to affect a child’s well-being and functioning as they grow and can have negative consequences on school performance and social functioning in later years (Saavedra, Silverman, Morgan-Lopez & Kurtines, 2010). It appears that if effective interventions are not implemented to address diagnosable childhood anxieties, the symptoms can progressively become more severe and debilitating (Girling-Butcher & Ronan, 2009).

There were two studies that examined the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). The Hale III et al. (2014) prospective cohort study was conducted to determine if frequent administration of the SCARED further distinguished between false positives and true positives with regard to DSM-5 diagnostic symptoms of anxiety disorder. While the Simon et al. (2009) prospective study was conducted to determine if results relating to high-anxious and median-anxious on the SCARED could be used to distinguish and predict various anxiety disorders. Both authors believe that anxiety disorders can take a serious toll on the quality of life and can financially drain the society. Simon et al. goes on to say that anxiety disorders that

The diagnoses were determined by an interview of the parent and child with a clinician using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (K-SADS-PL). The youths were enlisted from five locations classified as Research Units in Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP): New York University, New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and University of California, Los Angeles. All youths were signed up for a double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of FLV for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

She finds herself constantly worrying that there is no reason; such as the status of her home, being late to work despite waking up an hour before departure, any possible accidents which may lead to her death, and various scenarios which lead to unfortunate events. She states that she has been married for about 10 years to her college sweetheart. She has no children due to her worries of complications during childbearing and raising children. She worries that her children whether children will turn out to be normal, pretty, or crazy like their mother. She describes her marriage as ‘hell’ due to her husband’s lack of support. She does not mention any other family member besides her husband when asked about her family. Janine holds s a job in as a tax accountant. She works from 6am to 11pm, and she brings her work home with her. This is due to her anxiousness interfering with her concentration on tasks. Recently work has been overwhelming for her since there is no method for relieving her stress. She states that her husband does not help her with housework, which adds to the stress from work. In fact, she does not see her husband often which prompts her to worry if her husband is having an affair. She is not on medication at the moment; however, she used to take Xanax once every morning for 2 years. As for meals, she states that she only eats quarry, animals hunted for food, and that she

An anxiety disorder is described as the occurrence of anxiety without an obvious external cause that affects daily functioning. It occurs in four major forms panic disorder, phobic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In a research study by Phillip Kendall in 1994, an investigation on psychosocial treatment with forty-seven children aged nine to thirteen with anxiety disorders was done. Kendall felt this particular study was important because adults were mostly likely to seek help for the child who behaves aggressively while overlooks the child that showed inadequate social skills. Mostly due to the fact that children were normally anxious about several aspects of life and saw anxiousness as part of a regular function in their children. Though anxiety is a natural process in children it becomes a serious issue when it negatively impacts a child development and in turns causes psychological distress for the child as they progress into adulthood. In Kendall 's study, he compared a sixteen session cognitive-behavioral treatment group with a

Anxiety is normal body response and necessary inbuilt protective response mechanism. Which Protect us from danger and helps us survive(McLellan2016). Anxiety comprised thoughts, feelings, physical symptoms and behaviors (McLellan 2016). But when fear and worry becomes significant, ongoing, excessive and interferes with daily activities in life, then it is termed as anxiety disorders (McLellan 2016). There are different types of anxiety disorders as classified by DSM-5/ICD-10, social anxiety disorder(SAD), separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (McLellan 2016). Amongst these, social anxiety disorder is the most common form of disorder in childhood and adolescence. The transition from toddler to childhood and adolescence, children show importance on how their friends and adults see them and how they come across socially (Anxiety Disorders Association of America[ADAA], n.d.). The way

The primary and secondary outcomes of interest in this study are respectively depression and anxiety (in children. Depression in children will be measured at the beginning of the study and every three weeks up to three weeks after the intervention (6 measurements in total) using the center for epidemiological studies of depression scale for children (CES-DC). The CES-DC was developed in 1986 and has widely been used around the world for depression screening in children. One of its strengths is that it is short and is suitable to any continent. It psychometric properties are: internal reliability .86, test retest reliability .85, area under ROC curve .825,

Anxiety Disorders are a common phenomenon in children and adolescents. Research studies have identified both a biological and environment bases as well as the interplay between risks and protective factors determine the development of anxiety disorders. It is relevant that intervention strategies are research-based, as this will ensure the implementation of effective treatment plans. Because of managed care enterprises, it is essential that intervention strategies utilized are researching-founded; and social workers must familiarize themselves with current research subjects. O 'Hare, (2005 p. 396) suggests, "There is a combination of interacting genes, temperamental, parental/familial, psychological and situational factors, parental/familial, psychological and situational factors contribute to the development and maintain of anxiety in youngsters. Generalized anxiety disorders develop as the genetic and environmental factors interact and create high anxiety levels in children and adolescents.

The problem is not anxiety itself, it is not being able to cope with the anxieties of human life. This can be a challenge for young kids due to the fact

Untreated anxiety symptoms can develop into various disorders, significantly affecting children’s cognitive, behavioral, and somatic functioning (Maid, Smokowski, & Bacallao, 2008). Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses experienced by children and adolescents. According to Walkup et al. (2008) the prevalence of anxiety disorders among children remains within a range of 10-20%. Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fears and worry causing discomfort that interferes with a child’s well-being and affects all areas of a child’s life, including school, home, and social life (Cooley & Boyce, 2004).

Adolescents’ without anxiety can join any activity and be perfectly fine and others not so much. It’s imperative to for parents to also select an activity that’s not going to trigger the disorder and make the child suffer more and become more anxious then they already may be. Finding a good match for a child can be difficult but should be taken seriously. The main goal is to find an activity for the child to excel in and to help in not diminish but cope with anxiety

In 2001, the mother of a girl, known as MissT. a fifteen-year-old high schooler, found her daughter almost dead, surrounded by her own vomit in her room. MissT.’s suicide note was found on her bedside table where it explained that she had taken more than 200 over the counter and prescription medication pills in an attempt of suicide. As she received treatment at a psychiatric unit, MissT. explained how she had been struggling with depression for about a year. Her mother had no idea (Lukonis 302). Annually, over five thousand teens commit suicide in the United States (Anderson 3). The lives of teenagers are hard enough as it is, with their bodies and minds growing, the pressure from social media to be perfect, and the push to get good grades;