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Getting
Help > Children & Teens
Anxiety Disorders in Children and Teens
Children
and teens have anxiety in their lives, and like adults, they
can suffer from anxiety disorders, too. Stressful
events such as starting school, moving, or the loss of a parent
can trigger the onset of an anxiety disorder, but a specific stressor
need not be the precursor to the development of a disorder. Research
has shown that if left untreated, children with anxiety disorders
are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, to have less developed
social skills, and to be more vulnerable to substance abuse.
While
children can develop any of the recognized anxiety disorders, some
disorders are more common in childhood. Some tend to
be specific to stages of development. Separation
anxiety disorder and specific
phobias are more common in children about 6 to 9
years old. Generalized
anxiety disorder (GAD) and social
anxiety disorder are more common in middle childhood and
adolescence; panic
disorder can occur in adolescence, too. As with adults, depression
has a high rate of comorbidity in children, particularly teenagers.
Although
children experience the symptoms of anxiety in much the same way
as adults do, they display and react to symptoms differently.
This can lead to difficulties in diagnosis, and it may be difficult
to determine if a child's behavior is "just a phase"
or whether it constitutes a disorder.
Read more information about anxiety disorders in children:
Children and their parents share stories of hope about their experiences with an anxiety disorder. Read What's the Worst That Could Happen?, My Silent Child, and My Experience With OCD.
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