The increasing number of children being diagnosed with anxiety disorder has raised serious public health concerns, as a majority of these children being exposed to anxiety disorder find themselves facing risks of other mental disorders. The concerns have been directed towards trying to understand some of the risk factors that are exposing children to high possibilities of experiencing anxiety. Some of the common types of anxiety affecting children in the society today include separation and social anxieties. Most cases of anxiety in children are about due to separation from their parents or guardians, being exposed to trauma, and fears or phobias. In trying to understand anxiety in children, the focus of this report is to conduct a literature review focused on trying to examine some of the key findings from previous studies focused on the topic at hand.
Literature Review
In a study on the impacts of anxiety on children and their parents, Poole, Van Lieshout, McHolm, Cunningham, & Schmidt (2018) indicate that cases of anxiety in children do not only affect the children but also have a significant impact on their parents. For majority of the parents, the challenge arises from the fact that it become harder for them to deal with the children that have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders in an effective manner. Poole, Van Lieshout, McHolm, Cunningham, & Schmidt (2018) go ahead to indicate that approximately 70% of families find themselves dealing with one or more children that are suffering from anxiety disorders; thus, highlighting the extent to which this becomes a key issue of concern. From a family point of view, identification of the children that suffering from anxiety disorders is a challenge due to lack of knowledge on what to look out for when dealing with anxiety disorders.
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When evaluating the issue of anxiety in children, one of the key areas to consider was evaluating some of the key risk factors contributing to an increase in the number of children that are suffer from anxiety disorders. Angkustsiri, Simon, & Hastings (2017) expound on one of the most common risk factors leading to high cases of anxiety in children, divorce or constant arguments among parents. Children that find themselves facing a risk of separation from their parents often face a high possibility of being diagnosed with anxiety disorders when compared to children in healthy family settings. Angkustsiri, Simon, & Hastings (2017) take note of the fact that constant arguments among parents creates a situation where the children experience the need for having to be alone for a majority of the time when parents are arguing. It is a common occurrence to find these children suffering from a high risk of depression considering that they lack the mental capability of having to deal with constant arguments.
Exposure to trauma may also be considered as another key contributor to the issue of anxiety in children. Most of the children exposed to trauma, which is often attributed to a wide array of cultural factors that may include physical and mental abuse, suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder; a mental disorder that has been touted as a key contributor to anxiety among children (Whitney, Shapiro, Peterson, & Warschausky, 2019). In most cases, parents fail to recognize the extent to which physical and mental abuse are likely to impact their children’s state of mind. From my community interview with practitioner Brittany Cabey, she indicated that the number of children suffering from anxiety has increased significantly in the 2017 – 2018 academic year. She also indicated that not many stakeholders took notice of the rise until recently. That seeks to support the position indicated that indeed many parents are failing to recognize the challenges that their children are experience with regard to anxiety disorders.
Conclusion
Anxiety in children ought to be considered as one of the key mental health issues affecting a significant number of children in the society today attributed to the fact that a majority of the children find themselves being exposed to risk factors. Based on this information I am proposing that more research ought to be undertaken in trying to evaluate the effectiveness of using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as one of the key approaches to aid in dealing with anxiety among children. The use of CBT would be most appropriate considering that it may help in the identification of the root cause factors contributing to cases of anxiety among children with the aim being towards finding viable solutions.
References
Angkustsiri, K., Simon, T. J., & Hastings, P. D. (2017). Parenting, anxiety, and adaptive function in children with chromosome deletion syndrome. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science , 1 (S1), 69-69.
Poole, K. L., Van Lieshout, R. J., McHolm, A. E., Cunningham, C. E., & Schmidt, L. A. (2018). Trajectories of social anxiety in children: influence of child cortisol reactivity and parental social anxiety. Journal of abnormal child psychology , 46 (6), 1309-1319.
Whitney, D. G., Shapiro, D. N., Peterson, M. D., & Warschausky, S. A. (2019). Factors associated with depression and anxiety in children with intellectual disabilities. Journal of intellectual disability research , 63 (5), 408-417.
