Term
| What are some of the core features of anxiety disorders? |
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Definition
1. Fear response - flight or fight
2. Anxious emotion
3. Behavioral aviodance - this perpetuates the anxiety
4. Impaired concentration/worry - filled w/apprehension about the future
5. Narrowed attention - laser focus (relaxed attention has open focus) |
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Term
| What percentage of children & adolesents have anxiety disorders? |
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Definition
2-5% pre-adolescent
10% by age 16 |
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Term
| Who is mor likely to expereince an anxiety disorder - males or females? |
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Definition
| Females are more likely but men are underdiagnosed. Men express their anxiety as irritability & controlling. |
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Term
| What disorders are comorbid w/anxiety? |
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Definition
1. depression
2. eating disorders
3. externalizing disorders - ADHD |
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Term
| What are symptoms of separation anxiety? |
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Definition
| kids are very clingy, will follow mom around house and are distressd by any separation. have lots of tantrums & bed time is typically difficult. School phobia is big w/these kids. Typically diminishes by ages 3-5 but can also go into adolesence (might not want to go away to camp) |
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Term
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Definition
| Can see these phobias in early childhood as they are scared of particular things (ie the dark, snakes, dentist). as they get older can be afraid of heights, claustrophobia |
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Term
| Describe generalized anxiety disorder in children. |
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Definition
these kids are little worriers and worry about big, specific things like dad is getting older and might die, natural disasters, will there be enough money left for college.
These kids are not carefree and are very serious.
Incidence increases |
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Term
| Describe generalized anxiety disorders in adolesence. |
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Definition
the incidence of GAD increases as kids get older & now they can worry about more things since their brain is more developed.
They might have probs sleeping since they cant turn off the worrying.
They may eventually develop high blood pressure since the high levels of cortisol over time can wear down the immune system. |
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Term
| what is the prevalence of OCD in pre-adolesence? |
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Definition
2-4%
more common in pre-adolescent boys than girls |
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Term
| What are the symptoms of OCD? |
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Definition
repetitive thoughts that are intrusive
must carry out compulsions or ritualistic behaviors to ease the repetitive thoughts |
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Term
| How is OCD manifested in children as compared to adolesence? |
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Definition
in children may begin with odd collecting behavior or odd touching behaviors (ie must touch door when going thru a room)
Obsessions may be about anger or sex (forbidden topics) or bodily functions
Checking usually occurs later in life. |
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Term
Social anxiety becomes increasingly common at around what age? |
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Definition
| 13-15 as these are typical ages when kids start to worry about social appearances. It is very common for this to continue into adulthood. |
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Term
What are some traits of people who have social anxiety? |
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Definition
1. they have problems w/authority figures
2. they are very self-critical & think that others are critical of them as well |
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Term
| What is the typical age of onset for panic disorder? |
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Definition
| Adolescense. Very rare to occur before adolescense. |
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Term
| When would a panic disorder be triggered? |
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Definition
Typically happens when a change in routine occurs, (ie, field trip, staying the night at someone's house)
They might seem to come out of nowhere but you can often identify the triggers.
Will often engage in avoidance behaviors so as not to encounter the panic attack. |
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Term
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Definition
| full blown flight/fight response |
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Term
| How long do panic attacks last? |
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Definition
| can last for seconds, minutes even hours.. |
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Term
| what are some temperament traits that can lead to anxiety disorders? |
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Definition
withdrawal from novelty along w/shyness, clingy, timid
temperament + shyness = 65% heritability rate
If parents can encourage child to become bolder they might not develop anxiety |
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Term
| what are the neurotransmitters involved w/anxiety disorders? |
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Definition
1. low levels of serotonin
2. low levels of dopamine
3. heightened levels of cortisol
4. heightened sympathetic nervous system (resting heart rate tends to be higher) |
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Term
| what are some of the aspects of neurobiology involved w/anxiety? |
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Definition
1. overly sensitive amygdala
2. overly activated right hemisphere
3. overly activated left frontal (esp in OCD)
4. Prefrontal cortex has difficulty soothing amygdala & will often exacerbate the anxiety |
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Term
| what are some environmental factors that can cause anxiety? |
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Definition
1. anxious attachment style - overactivation of attachment system, heightened proximity style, inhibited exploration, inconsistent attunement, overprotective/controlling parents
2. parents model anxiety
3. parents reinforce avoidance behaviors
4. overly critical parents
5. parents placing unrealistic expectations on the child |
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Term
| what are some of the cognitive issues that are related to anxiety? |
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Definition
1. having a perception that is biased toward threat
2. being intolerant of uncertainty - they have to know now!
3. rigidity - difficulty shifting tasks (cant deviate from routines, feel safe if everything is the same)
4. overcontrol
5. doubting - esp true w/ocd - have trouble trusting their gut
6. worry - apprehension about the future
7. avoidance
8. absence of present moment attention (cant live in the present)
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Term
| what is the goal of treatment? |
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Definition
to make symptoms less acute.
therapy involves exploring the negative thoughts & learning how to be more in the present
medication includes benzos (zanax- used for acute symptoms such as panic attacks), ssri's (zoloft, prozac - used for longer term anxiety) |
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Term
| is medication useful for OCD? |
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Definition
| yes! in fact, medication needs to be a part of the picture |
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