Childhood Anxiety and School Refusal

Anxiety Disorders in Children

• Test anxiety disorder is a common anxiety disorder in children.
• Fear of school is often a fear of leaving parents, not a fear of school itself.
• School refusal is equally common in boys and girls, and it occurs most often between the ages of 5 and 11.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Children with generalized anxiety disorder worry about minor events and experience somatic symptoms.
• To be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, a child must exhibit an inability to control worry.
• The lifetime prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder is 2.2%.

Specific Phobias

• Children with specific phobias do not recognize that their fears are extreme and unreasonable.
• The most common specific phobia in children is a fear of animals, believed to be due to evolutionary processes.
• A situational specific phobia would most likely involve a fear of elevators.

Social Anxiety Disorder

• Social anxiety disorder is the most common secondary diagnosis for children with another anxiety disorder.
• Most social anxiety disorders first occur in adolescence.
• Selective mutism is believed to be a type of social phobia.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Compulsions and obsessions experienced by children typically last more than an hour a day.
• The most common compulsions include excessive washing and bathing.
• The rate of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children is equal to the rate of obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults.
• Genetic influences have a greater role in early onset cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder than late onset cases.

Treatment of Anxiety Disorders

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective procedure for treating most anxiety disorders.
• The strongest evidence for the effectiveness of medication to treat anxiety disorders in children and adolescents is for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Anxiety Response Systems

• The physical response system involves the release of adrenaline and nonadrenaline, leading to increased heart rate, sweating, and other physical effects.
• The cognitive response system involves a search for potential threats and can lead to self-blame and anxiety.
• The behavioral response system involves the desire to escape or avoid threatening situations, leading to avoidance behaviors or aggressive impulses.

Worry, Anxiety, and Panic

• Worry is a normal and useful function in development, but can be excessive in children with anxiety disorders.
• Anxiety is a broader concept that involves a physical response to perceived danger.
• Panic is a sudden and intense anxiety response that can be overwhelming.

Obsessions and Compulsions

• Obsessions are persistent and intrusive thoughts, urges, or images that cause significant anxiety or distress.
• Compulsions are repetitive, purposeful behaviors or mental acts performed in response to obsessions to suppress or neutralize them.
• Most children with OCD have multiple obsessions and compulsions, and certain compulsions are commonly associated with specific obsessions.

This quiz assesses knowledge on anxiety disorders in children, specifically fear of school and school refusal. It covers topics such as the causes of school fear and the ages at which school refusal typically occurs.