Anxiety and Children - Essay Example

Anxiety and Children What is Anxiety? It is not doubt that anxiety has received considerable attention in terms of researchand exploration. This is evident in the volumes of studies, articles, and books that focus on the subject of anxiety. Within the field of psychology, anxiety is one of the most interesting topics. The high attention given to anxiety has resulted in the development of various conceptions and theories of anxiety. Through these conceptions and theories, anxiety is perceived differently. Although there are some commonalities in the understanding and definitions of anxiety, the differences are also worth noting. In this regard, it is important to note that there is no single universal definition of anxiety. Various definitions have emerged that consider anxiety from different perspectives and as having different elements. Before delving deeper into the definition of anxiety, it is important to begin from the basic level. According to Levine & Parkinson (p. 46), anxiety was first considered as a problem emanating from pressures in life. A good example is the common assumption that people drink alcohol or use drugs to reduce anxiety. While this is not always true, it underpins a very important element of anxiety. It resonates with the psychoanalytic theory of anxiety that was initially proposed by Freud. According to the original version of Freud’s theory of anxiety, anxiety is the outcome of failure to take repressive actions (Butt, Ballenger & Lepine, 1999; Strongman, 1995). This conceptualization of anxiety implies that anxiety is actually a consequence of some problem that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope with. While this is true, it does not cover the all aspect of anxiety. In some cases, anxiety precedes social and behavioural problems such as alcoholism and drug abuse. Moreover, not all cases of alcoholism and drug abuse are related to anxiety. A new conception of anxiety is that anxiety is normal. Every person including children and adults as well as men and women experiences anxiety in their daily lives (Beekman et al., 2000). Such anxiety is considered as the general moderate feeling of fear that comes with exposure to situations that threaten us or that may cause harm. A good example is the general feeling of fear and restlessness that some students get when they are about to take an exam. The same feeling is common when people are invited for hob interviews. Such anxiety is considered normal because it does not affect normal functioning negatively. In fact, normal anxiety is considered necessary to enhance performance (Andrews, 2003, p. 5). Referring to the example of being invited for a job interview, the fear of failing the interview drives people to prepare adequately for the interview so that they can evade the negative outcome of failure. While moderate anxiety is considered normal, anxiety can become abnormal. Abnormal anxiety is often considered problematic, which is why it is referred to as anxiety disorder or general anxiety disorder (Borkovec & Whisman, 1996, p. 171). Abnormal anxiety is like normal anxiety only that it is more intense and extreme. While normal anxiety can be controlled, abnormal anxiety is difficult to control or cope with. Additionally, abnormal anxiety interferes with normal functioning and performance (Borchard, 2014). Therefore, while normal and abnormal anxiety can be caused by the same thing, such as divorce, their intensity and expression differs. In abnormal anxiety, an individual may be unable to cope with divorce such that it interferes with his job, social functioning, and lifestyle. This relates to the original conception of anxiety as mentioned above where an individual may turn to alcoholism or substance abuse to reduce the anxiety. The alcoholism may cause the individual to stop going to work or socializing with people. To have a better understanding of anxiety, there is need to consider the relationship among fear, anxiety, and depression. The three concepts have been widely studies and explored. One emerging theme is that the concepts are related (Maurer et al., 2008; Brady & Kendal, 1992). According to Sullivan and LeDoux (2008), fear is an essential element in anxiety. There is also a correlation between anxiety and depression (Brady & Kendal, 1992). It is worth noting that fear is more evident in anxiety than in depression. In fact, the main distinction between anxiety and depression is that people with anxiety often experience fear that something harmful may happen to them whereas depressed people assume that the harmful thing will obviously happen and so they accept the fact that it will happen (Lowrance, 2007; Martinez, 2015; Suls & Howren, 2012; Barlow, 2004). Anxiety in Childhood Anxiety has been found to be common in early stages of development. This generally covers the period between birth and adulthood. In fact, it has been suggested that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders affecting children and adolescents (Beesdo, Knappe & Pine, 2009).Some studies show that between 8-12 percent of children show signs of anxiety disorder (Spence, 1998). However, some developmental psychologists think that anxiety is rare among children before the adolescent period. They posit that what commonly happens before adolescence is that children are predisposed to conditions that could lead to development of anxiety later on. According to Indivero (2014), children before the adolescent age are more likely to experience temperament, which could then lead to anxiety development. A common element of childhood anxiety is persistence. Apparently, if childhood anxiety disorders are untreated, they can persist to adulthood (Keller et al., 1992: Pfeffer et al., 1988). Various studies have provided evidence to show that some cases of adult anxiety disorders can be traced to child anxiety disorders (Weissman et al., 1984). Apart from persistence, another element that stands out in child anxiety is the cause. Child anxiety can be caused by multiple factors. It is normal for children to experience fear or anxiety. However, when anxiety becomes a major interference to child behavior and functioning, it becomes an anxiety disorder. There are multiple sources or causes of child anxiety including genetic factors, family environment, parental behavior, and social factors (Jones, 2011). To understand this better, it is important to look at some of the common anxiety disorders among children and adolescents. One of the common anxiety disorders among children from an early age is separation anxiety (Weissman et al., 1984). Separation anxiety often develops between the sixth and ninth months. It means that a child worries because of being separated with the parent or caregiver (NHS, 2015). This form of anxiety disorder is often expressed through crying especially when the child sees the mother leaving. Normally, separation anxiety is short-lived. Another form of anxiety disorder is phobias. Children can develop fear/phobia for things like water or pets such that it can overwhelm them. In this case anxiety is cause by phobia for things. Another common anxiety disorder among children is social anxiety. Social anxiety is whereby a child fears going out and interacting with people (Ginsburg et al., 1998). While such fear may be common among children, it can become severe in some cases. A good example of social anxiety disorder is when children have problems going to school because they fear interacting with other children. From the examples of common anxiety disorders in children, we can deduce that multiple factors cause child anxiety. However, child anxiety is unique in the sense that children are yet to develop fully in terms of coping mechanisms. Based on the cognitive and psychoanalytic theories of anxiety, children are more vulnerable to anxiety disorders because they are at lower stages of cognitive, emotional, and psychological development (Pynoos, Steinberg & Piacentini, 1999; Buitelaar et al.,. 2003). Anxiety in Adulthood Anxiety is also prevalent among adults including those in the early years of adulthood all the way to those in later adulthood. The most common anxiety is adulthood is GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). However, this does not mean that GAD only affects adults. It can also affect children and adolescents. According to Anxiety and Depression Association of America (2015), about 3.1 per cent of the US population, comprising of 6.8 million adults have GAD. The typical characteristics of GAD include excessive, unrealistic, and persistent worry about common things. The symptoms of GAD can be physical or psychological such as dizziness, headaches, tiredness, trembling, restlessness, irritability, and poor concentration (NHS, 2014). The causes of GAD in adulthood are varied. In fact, it may be difficult to identify the specific causes of GAD in adulthood. In fact, the specific causes of GAD are unknown. However, there is wide consensus that GAD is caused by various psychosocial and biological factors. Under the psychosocial factors, one of the assumptions is that anxiety symptomizes unresolved conflicts in the unconscious mind. The other assumption is that GAD is caused by inaccurate perception of danger (Sadock & Sadock, 2008, p. 264). Another school of thought is that environmental factors also play a role in the development of GAD (Rhoads, 2010). One of the main arguments regarding the etiology of GAD is that it develops due to past experiences of anxiety during childhood or develops in adulthood due to stressful events (Weiner, 2003). 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