A community study of anxiety in children and adolescents

TLDR

The study used an epidemiologic approach to assess rates, symptoms, and behavioral correlates of anxiety in children and adolescents. A community sample of 210 children aged 8, 12, and 17 was evaluated with structured diagnostic assessments. Anxiety was the most common psychopathology across all age groups, with constant overall prevalence but age‑specific variations in anxiety types and associated interpersonal dysfunction.

Abstract

The authors used an epidemiologic approach to investigate rates, symptoms, and behavioral concomitants of anxiety across the child and adolescent age span. They drew 210 children aged 8, 12, and 17 in equal numbers from a community sample and evaluated them with structured diagnostic assessments. They found anxiety to be the most frequently reported type of psychopathology across all three age groups. Although the prevalence of any anxiety symptom remained constant, specific types of anxiety varied with age. Age differences in nonanxiety behavior were found between subjects with and without anxiety, particularly with regard to interpersonal dysfunction.