Childhood Emotional Disorders Overview

Introduction

• Some mental disorders may not be diagnosed until later in life but symptoms present themselves in childhood.
• It can be difficult to determine whether a child's behavior indicates emotional problems.
• Emotional problems in children are likely if behaviors deviate from cultural norms, are not age appropriate, or interfere with adaptive functioning.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

• Excessive fear or anxiety concerning separation from those to whom the individual is attached.
• Anxiety exceeds that which is expected for the person's developmental level.
• Interferes with social, academic, occupational, or other areas of functioning.
• Most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 5 and 6, upon starting school.
• Predisposing factors:
  • Biological: Genetics and temperament
  • Environmental: Stressful life events
  • Family: Parental overprotection, insecure parent-child attachment, and maternal depression
• Treatment: Behavior therapy, family therapy, group therapy, and psychopharmacology.

Nursing Assessment

• Onset can occur as early as preschool age, rarely as late as adolescence.
• Separation anxiety most commonly presents as difficulty separating from the mother or maternal-rolled parent.
• Occasionally, separation reluctance is directed toward the father, siblings, or other significant individuals.
• Separation (or anticipation) results in:
  • Tantrums, crying, screaming, complaints of physical problems, and clinging behaviors.
• Common behaviors and symptoms:
  • Reluctance or refusal to attend school, especially in adolescence.
  • Younger children may "shadow", or follow around the person they fear being separated from.
  • Worrying and nightmares are common.
  • Specific phobias are not uncommon.
  • Fear of sleeping away from home.
• Nursing Diagnoses:
  • Anxiety (severe) related to family history, temperament, overattachment to parent, negative role modeling.
  • Ineffective coping related to unresolved separation conflicts and inadequate coping skills, evidenced by numerous somatic complaints.
  • Impaired social interaction related to reluctance to be away from attachment figure.
• Outcomes:
  • The client:
    • Maintains anxiety at a manageable level.
    • Demonstrates adaptive coping strategies for dealing with anxiety, when separation from attachment figure is anticipated.
    • Interacts appropriately with others and spends time away from attachment figure to do so.
• Planning/Implementation:
  • Nursing care is aimed at:
    • Helping the client maintain anxiety at a manageable level in the face of separation from a significant other.
    • Assisting with the development of more adaptive coping strategies.
    • Developing trust and demonstrating the ability to interact appropriately with others.
• Evaluation:
  • Requires reassessment of the behaviors for which the family sought treatment.
  • Both the client and family members must change their behaviors.

Intellectual Developmental Disorder (IDD)

• Characterized by deficits in general mental abilities, reasoning, problem-solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, and learning in both academic settings and from experience.
• Onset prior to age 18 years.
• Diagnostic Features:
  • General intellectual functioning
    • Clinical assessment
    • Performance on IQ tests (not diagnostic)
  • Adaptive functioning (diagnostic)
    • Ability to adapt to requirements of activities of daily living and the expectations of their age and cultural group.

This quiz delves into how childhood behavior can indicate emotional problems and explores conditions like Separation Anxiety Disorder. Participants will learn about symptoms, predisposing factors, and treatment approaches for young children experiencing emotional distress. Enhance your understanding of childhood mental health issues through this focused quiz.