Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Anxiety Disorders

It is normal for children and adolescents to develop some fears and experience some fearful anticipation of problems (anxiety) during the course of their development. Over time, normal fears fade as children learn more about what to expect from their environment and relationships with others. When their fears do not fade and begin to interfere with the child or adolescent's daily life and activities, an anxiety disorder may be present, and parents should promptly seek the evaluation of their child or teen by a physician.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problems that occur in children and adolescents. In one large scale study of children between the ages of 9 and 17 years old, as many as 13 percent were reported to have had an anxiety disorder in a year. Other estimates state that 5 to 20 percent of children will be diagnosed with some type of anxiety disorder.

There are many different anxiety disorders that affect children and adolescents and require clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the left menu are some, for which we have provided a brief overview.

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