Anxiety Disorder in Children - Assignment Example

Anxiety Disorder in Children Positive early childhood development is exceedingly dependent on some quite simple, yet profound variables. The first few emotional states that an infant experiences are connected to the very basic instinctual attachments, or bonding, to his or her immediate environmental surroundings, this of course includes the caregivers. Security is one of the most primal and comforting feelings an infant has and if this is interrupted in these early stages of development, the result may be an attachment disorder that will eventually lead to certain maladaptations to the future social experiences of the child. Anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent psychological disorders found in children. Not only do they often cause sever distress for the child as well as parents and school staff, they can significantly impede the child's' educational and social growth and may even persist recurrently into adulthood (McLoone, Hudson & Rapee, 2006). One of the earliest causes for anguish in children is brought about by separation anxiety. While quite normal at the early stages of development, the feeling of separation anxiety usually comes to its peak at around the age of two and begins to diminish thereafter. (Separation Anxiety, 2007) While considered natural and instinctive behavior, if there has been an unevenness in the caregivers' responses to the infants needs and a secure attachment does not develop between them, certain attachment disorders may develop. These may result in difficulties regarding the child's acclimation to the outside environment and can be the beginning of the development of anxiety disorders. According to attachment theory, children have to be near their parents for biologically necessary comfort and support. Secure attachment—knowing that the parent will be available, physically and emotionally—provides the child with a safe place to retreat to, a base from which to explore the world, and eventually a model for other relationships. (Separation anxiety, 2007, p. 1-2) Therefore, since the child's early attachment model is really what he or she will center their developmental and socialization skills upon, from infancy forward to two years, the child certainly needs to connect in a positive way with their primary caregivers. The child needs to feel secure in the comfort of his or her environment. Discovering how to positively relate to their caregivers in a manner that is at once appropriate as well as rewarding is a constructive antecedent to the creation of a healthy image of self as well as a confidence building experience in relating to others. (Egeland & Erickson) Providing the infant with dependable nurturing and positive reinforcement during these early stages of development will certainly facilitate the process wherein the child creates a secure attachment to his or her caregiver. This will allow the infant “to grow and thrive, babies depend upon the nurturance of adult caregivers who can read their emotional expressions and attend to their physical and emotional needs” (Broderick & Blewitt 111). Insecure attachment can result from certain caregiver missteps. Parents who are too overprotective and reluctant to allow any degree of independence will certainly inhibit the development of a secure attachment in the child. This also holds true for abusive and neglectful caregivers that respond negatively to their children's needs, causing them to expect the same from the outside world as well, creating fear and trepidation. Unpredictable parental behavior and inconsistent parenting can also cause the loss of attachment security. Lastly, parents or caregivers that are themselves anxiety ridden, depressed or have other psychological impairments will most often imbue those traits into their developing child's psyche. As time goes on what has begun as simple separation anxiety that is exaggerated by insecure attachment can evolve into other psychological anxiety disorders. A generalized Social Phobia in which the child finds him or herself uncomfortable in settings involving groups or with single outside individuals. The child would thus fear becoming an object of scrutiny and attempt to avoid and/or fear such encounters. Another is Generalized Anxiety Disorder in which the child exhibits excessive concern or worry over various different events of life such as school performance, unfamiliar situations, catastrophes, health or other family concerns, etc. Specific phobias are also another possible outcome. These are characterized by an extreme fear of one single stimulus or situation, which recurs every time the child is exposed to it. Of course certain natural fears are acceptable, but these fears would have to be deemed unreasonable given the nature of the situation. Another most common anxiety disorder in children is School Phobia. Children who are experiencing this will often display extreme anxiety and resistance to going to school. This can frequently result in somatic symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches and the like. Often these symptoms crop up just before going to school or occurring after having been there for a time these symptoms eventually result in the child being sent home. . (McLoone, Hudson, & Rapee, 2006) In order for any of these symptoms exhibited above to be considered an actual disorder they generally need to be prevalent and consistent for a period of at least six months and meet certain other criteria: Anxiety disorders are characterized by an irrational fear of a situation or stimulus that is in excess of what would be considered reasonable and age appropriate. When exposed to the phobic stimulus or feared situation, anxiety should almost invariably be present and continue for a specified length of time (e.g., worries should be pervasive for at least six months for a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder). (McLoone, et al. 2006) Also there must be significant disturbance or distress in the child's ability to function on a daily basis as a result of these symptoms. It has also been observed that most anxiety disorders do not exist in isolation in the children involved. A certain cascade effect and connection has been noted concerning the proliferation of several different levels and types of anxiety disorder present in the child. This is termed Comorbidity: Despite the anxiety disorders having distinct diagnostic criteria, there is a great deal of overlap in presenting profiles and anxiety disorders are characterized by high levels of comorbidity. In clinical populations, children presenting with a single anxiety disorder are the exception, with as many as 70-80% of children receiving multiple anxiety disorder diagnoses (McLoone, et al. 2006, p. 225) In screening for anxiety disorders, other sources of possible behaviors must first be eliminated. For instance, children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will frequently show similar symptomolgy to children with an anxiety disorder. Depression, misbehavior, hostility, etc. are all part of the ADHD syndrome as well as symptoms of anxiety. The current treatment for children with ADHD is a wide range of differing drug therapies, quite frequently prescribed, as opposed to their peers with diagnosed anxiety disorders who generally receive some type of talk therapy, (Bower, 2002), such as Cognitive Therapy. Cognitive Therapy focuses on attempting to find root causes of the anxiety and then concentrates on changing the patterns of mental behavior that have developed from them. However, there is now a trend that has been developing in the use of medications for the treatment of children with anxiety induced emotional or behavioral conditions. These can include anti-depressants and even tranquilizers. (Iconis, 2002) These are often too easily prescribed by physicians, who may or may no know the full extent of the disorder and whether or not this is proper treatment. Another cause of anxiety disorders in children can come from other extraordinary sources. These non-normative influences can come in the form of disasters, natural and manmade, sudden death of a caregiver or even a tertiary acquaintance, severe illness or accident to the child, etc. After traumatic life events such as these a child will most certainly experience a form of PostTraumatic Stress Disorder: The child usually responds with extreme fear or helplessness. Intrusive reexperiencing of the event (e.g., nightmares, play involving the event), avoidance of factors related to the trauma, and chronically increased arousal (eg, exaggerated startle responses, autonomic reactivity) are also present. Children with PTSD will typically have disruptions in various aspects of their lives. (Anxiety disorder, 1999, p. 950) The resultant symptoms need to be addressed and ameliorated quickly prior to any long term damaged to the child's emotional and psychological psyche. While anxiety disorders are certainly one of the most prevailing emotional disorders in children affecting between 10% and 21 % (McLoone, et al. 2006, p. 220), they are of varying degrees and often short in duration if addressed early and correctly. And while the prevalence of anxiety varies by age and gender, when looked at more closely by age, these anxieties if left untreated will shift to more abstract worries and interpersonal concerns as the child moves on to adolescence and adulthood. Once an anxiety disorder in a child has been detected there are many options now available to parents to help their them. Many schools now sponsor programs geared specifically for this concern, The Cool Kids program is one of them: The Cool Kids program is an anxiety treatment program, administered to small groups of children selected as at risk of developing, or currently indicating symptoms of anxiety. Being a selective, or indicated program, screening is necessary to determine which children will benefit most from involvement in the program. Once selected, a trained school counselor leads the small group of approximately six students through each of the ten hourly sessions, held weekly. (McLoone, et al. 2006, p. 231) School programs assist children and parents that may not have the means or time to devote to trying to access other services. The efforts made to correct as early as possible these anxiety disorders are vitally important to the present and future well being of the child and the adult they are to become. References Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. (1999). Southern Medical Journal 92 (10), p. 946- 955. Bower, Bruce. (2002) Med use widens in kids with ADHD. Science News 161 (22), p. 350. Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. The Life span: Human development for helping professionals (2nd ed.). (2006) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall. Egeland, B. & Erickson, M. F. (2002) Attachment theory and research. The Zero to Three Journal, 20 p. 2 Iconis, Rosemary. (2002) Anxiety Disorders In Children. Pediatrics for Parents. 19 p. 10 McLoone, Jordana;, Hudson, Jennifer L. & Rapee, Ronald M. (2006) Treating anxiety disorders in a school setting Education & Treatment of Children, 29 (2), p219-242 Separation anxiety. (2007). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 23 (7), p1-3 Read More