Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
2.0
2.4
Journals
Children
Special Issues
Anxiety Disorders in Children
share announcement

Anxiety Disorders in Children

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Child and Adolescent Psychiatry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 August 2022) | Viewed by 31799

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Heather Macalister

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Mary Baldwin University, Staunton, VA 24401, USA
Interests: gender; sexualization; attachment; psychology; eating/food choice
Prof. Charlotte Ulrikka Rask

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Interests: functional disorders; primarily health anxiety in children and adolescents; epidemiological/basic research and clinical projects; early intervention; face-to-face or internet-based
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Anxiety disorders (separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism, specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder) are common and disabling conditions that mostly begin during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. They differ from developmentally normative or stress-induced transient anxiety by being marked and persistent, and by impairing social, familial, and academic functioning. Anxiety disorders run in families and current etiological models implicate several family-related risk factors. Further, the comorbidity between specific anxiety disorders, somatic complaints, and depression is high. Psychological treatment, particularly (individual or family-based) cognitive behavioral therapy, has proven effective. However, even though considerable progress has been made in this area, it is necessary to expand our understanding of the variability in the severity, disability, and persistence of anxiety symptoms during childhood and adolescence. This might in turn enhance identification of developmental, transgenerational, physical, and other psychological problems related to anxiety disorders that could improve the timely detection of and ultimately provide alternative treatment targets for these disabling disorders in the future.

This Special Issue offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a state-of-the-art series on anxiety disorders in children and young people, including but not limited to the following major areas: epidemiology and developmental trajectories, causation (including family-based risk factors with cross-generational influences and intergenerational transmission), psychological and pharmacological treatments, newer concepts like parental health anxiety by proxy, and child health-related fear in the face of the global pandemic of COVID-19. I am delighted with the initiative taken by Children to launch this Special Issue. Children’s 2019 Journal Impact Factor is 2.078, and it is ranked 50 out of 128 journals in the category of Pediatrics. Submissions from experts in child anxiety disorders—clinicians and researchers—around the world are welcome. Manuscript formats can vary from literature reviews (systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses or narrative reviews) to original research (clinical trials, cohort studies, experimental lab work, case-control studies, qualitative studies), as long as they are of high quality and advance the field within childhood anxiety.

Prof. Dr. Heather Macalister
Prof. Charlotte Ulrikka Rask
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • anxiety disorder
  • child
  • intergenerational transmission
  • family-based intervention
  • health anxiety
  • health anxiety by proxy
  • psychological treatment
  • cognitive behavioral therapy
  • psychotherapy
  • developmental trajectory

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

22 pages, 454 KiB  
Article
A Pilot Feasibility Study of an Intensive Summer Day Camp Intervention for Children with Selective Mutism
by Danielle Haggerty, John S. Carlson and Aimee Kotrba
Children 2022, 9(11), 1732; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111732 - 11 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1463
Abstract
Cost, scheduling, and implementation competency are barriers to accessing traditional evidence-based behavioral interventions for childhood selective mutism (SM). Brief, or intensive, interventions are a disruptive innovation to traditional therapy given the use of fewer sessions during a short-term time period. This study explored [...] Read more.
Cost, scheduling, and implementation competency are barriers to accessing traditional evidence-based behavioral interventions for childhood selective mutism (SM). Brief, or intensive, interventions are a disruptive innovation to traditional therapy given the use of fewer sessions during a short-term time period. This study explored the acceptability, integrity, and effectiveness (i.e., single-case replicated AB design) of an intensive summer camp consisting of a 5-day behavioral therapy for 25 children with SM. Caregiver-rated treatment acceptability ratings and family interviews support intensive summer day camp as an acceptable intervention approach for SM. Additionally, results revealed that counselors and parents implemented SM behavioral therapy during camp with impressive integrity (>90%) after receiving training about SM behavioral therapy from an SM expert clinician. Effect size calculations of counselor-rated daily behavior ratings revealed reductions in anxiety during camp for 18 of the 25 campers. Significant caregiver-rated improvements in speaking behaviors were reported for 9 out of 14 campers with data available for analysis at the 3-month follow-up. This pilot feasibility study is the first to investigate intensive summer day camp as a treatment approach for SM and implications for future research are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anxiety Disorders in Children)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 287 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health in Chinese Adolescents: Differences among Girls and Boys
by Weiwei Jiang, Mingxia Ji, Xinli Chi and Xiaojiao Sun
Children 2022, 9(5), 689; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9050689 - 09 May 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2594
Abstract
The negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on individual mental health have been widely demonstrated, yet fewer studies have examined the impact of ACEs on depression and anxiety of Chinese adolescents and their sex differences. This cross-sectional study surveyed 12421 adolescents aged [...] Read more.
The negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on individual mental health have been widely demonstrated, yet fewer studies have examined the impact of ACEs on depression and anxiety of Chinese adolescents and their sex differences. This cross-sectional study surveyed 12421 adolescents aged 10–17 in Hechi City, Guangxi Province, to measure their levels of ACEs, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. The results found that: (1) Girls were more likely to experience ACEs than boys (37.67% vs. 32.25%, χ2 = 39.97, p < 0.001). (2) Emotion-related ACEs were more likely to occur among girls, while physical maltreatment, violence, and family dysfunction related ACEs were more likely to occur among boys. (3) Adolescents with ACEs were more likely to develop depression (OR = 4.40) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 4.60) than those without ACEs; adolescents who have encountered “peer isolation” and “emotional neglect” are most likely to develop depression (OR = 6.09/5.04) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 6.14/4.94). (4) The dose-response relationship between the level of ACE exposure and the risk of depression/anxiety symptoms was significant (p < 0.05), i.e., the risk increased as ACE level increased. (5) Girls were more likely to develop depression and anxiety symptoms than boys with the same ACE level. This study deepens the understanding of the prevalence of ACEs, the effect of ACEs on depression and anxiety symptoms, and their sex differences among Chinese adolescents in the underdeveloped regions of China. It provides more empirical support for future work on adolescent mental health protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anxiety Disorders in Children)
16 pages, 279 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Parental Alienating Behaviours on the Mental Health of Adults Alienated in Childhood
by Suzanne Verhaar, Mandy Louise Matthewson and Caitlin Bentley
Children 2022, 9(4), 475; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9040475 - 30 Mar 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 24340
Abstract
This study qualitatively investigated the mental health of adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood. Research suggests that exposure to parental alienating behaviours in childhood can have a profound impact on the mental health of those children later in life, including experiencing [...] Read more.
This study qualitatively investigated the mental health of adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood. Research suggests that exposure to parental alienating behaviours in childhood can have a profound impact on the mental health of those children later in life, including experiencing anxiety disorders and trauma reactions. An international sample of 20 adults exposed to parental alienating behaviours in childhood participated in semi-structured interviews on their experience and its impact. Four themes were identified: mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders and trauma reactions, emotional pain, addiction and substance use, and coping and resilience. Intergenerational transmission of parental alienation was found. Confusion in understanding their experience of alienation, the mental health sequelae, and elevated levels of suicidal ideation were found. This study demonstrated the insidious nature of parental alienation and parental alienating behaviours and provided further evidence of these behaviours as a form of emotional abuse. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anxiety Disorders in Children)

Other

Jump to: Research

6 pages, 208 KiB  
Perspective
Two Models of the Development of Social Withdrawal and Social Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: Progress and Blind Spots
by Heidi Gazelle
Children 2022, 9(5), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9050734 - 17 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2254
Abstract
This commentary features a review of two recently reformulated models of the development of child and adolescent: (1) social withdrawal by Rubin and Chronis-Tuscano 2021, and (2) social anxiety by Spence and Rapee 2016. The articles that present these reformulated models now cover [...] Read more.
This commentary features a review of two recently reformulated models of the development of child and adolescent: (1) social withdrawal by Rubin and Chronis-Tuscano 2021, and (2) social anxiety by Spence and Rapee 2016. The articles that present these reformulated models now cover advances made during the prior 12 to 18 years of research, including increased knowledge of genetic vulnerability to anxiety and longitudinal patterns of development, and acknowledgement of multiple pathways towards and away from the development of social withdrawal or social anxiety (i.e., equifinality, multifinality). However, these reformulated models also contain several blind spots. The model of social withdrawal development would be improved by explicitly referring to peer treatment (not only attitudinal peer rejection), especially peer exclusion; and incorporating the potential development of clinically significant anxiety in childhood (not only adolescence) and delays in developmental milestones in adulthood. The model of social anxiety development would be improved by featuring social withdrawal as a proximal affective-behavioral profile (rather than a temperament) and drawing upon the literature on social withdrawal and its links to peer relations. Overall, there is a continuing lack of integration between developmental and clinical research and models of the development of social withdrawal and social anxiety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anxiety Disorders in Children)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop