Interpersonal processes and the anxiety disorders of childhood.

Abstract

The anxiety disorders constitute a broad array of syndromes ranging from very circumscribed fears and phobias to pervasive anxiety or worry. According to the most recent editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., or DSM-IV; APA, 1994) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th rev., or ICD-10; World Health Organization, 1992), children can be categorized by eight major diagnostic syndromes associated with anxiety: panic disorder with agoraphobia, panic disorder without agoraphobia, agoraphobia without history of panic, specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. In addition, the DSM-IV and ICD-10 specify one anxiety disorder unique to childhoodseparation anxiety disorder. Earlier versions of the DSM included two additional anxiety diagnoses specific to childhood, namely, avoidant disorder and overanxious disorder. In the most recent revision, avoidant disorder and overanxious disorder have been subsumed under the diagnoses of social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder, respectively.In the past 2 decades, epidemiological studies have estimated the prevalence of anxiety disorders (including specific phobias) in general community

The use of Skype in analysis and training: a research and literature review

“…Similarly he maintains that attachment theory (even with its integration of object relations theory) cannot offer a comprehensive explanation, and he quotes recent research evidencing that early attachment issues did not account for much of the variance when causal explanations for emotional difficulties were investigated (Fearon et al ). This is in line with other research indicating that early attachment problems do not necessarily lead to later emotional turmoil (Ollendick et al ). So, suggesting that Freud's theory may be more culturally and patient specific than hitherto presumed, Fonagy argues that there is now research evidence from evolutionary psychology for ‘an instinct for communication and interpersonal understanding’ (p. xvi) that has evolved to ensure ‘the efficient transfer of relevant [survival‐oriented] cultural knowledge’ (p. xvii) and that this instinct needs to be taken into account alongside the universal human biological underpinnings to psychological life.…”

A Parent–Child Interactional Model of Social Anxiety Disorder in Youth

“…Five different types of studies would be helpful in testing the viability of our model of SAD and in advancing research and practice: (1) Longitudinal prospective studies of at-risk children (offspring of parents with an anxiety disorder) which begin in infancy and assess children temperamentally, behaviorally, diagnostically, and in terms of attachment processes and information processing biases, as well as monitor the course of parental psychopathology, parenting practices, parent information professing biases, and ideally, peer and sibling influences as well (see Ollendick et al 2010;Costa et al 2010, for a discussion of interpersonal issues such as peer relationships in the development and expression of childhood anxiety disorders). Specificity of disorder should be examined in these studies so that we will have more specific information about the onset and course of SAD in particular.…”

Playful exposure: An integrative view on the contributions of exposure therapy to children with anxiety.

“…In our experience, they are often unable to see them as exciting, adventurous, or mildly frightening, as other children do. These children tend to avoid feared situations instead of approaching and engaging with them (Ollendick, Costa, & Benoit, 2010). Three-year-old Samuel, for instance, became afraid in new situations.…”

“…To neutralize the dangerous meanings of the feared object, the mother probably had to neutralize her own anxiety first. In fact, parents’ anxious reactions in feared situations have a significant negative effect on children’s anxiety levels (Ollendick et al, 2010). When parents model a fearful reaction and fail to regulate their own emotions, their ability to emotionally support their child decreases and their child’s emotional regulation is poorer (Morelen, Shaffer, & Suveg, 2016; Muris, Steerneman, Merckelbach, & Meesters, 1996).…”