Chapter 8: Anxiety & OCD Flashcards
a mood state characterized by strong
negative emotion and bodily symptoms of tension in
anticipation of future danger or misfortune
Anxiety
is a self-defeating behavior
pattern – fear with no threat
The neurotic paradox
– Immediate reaction to perceived danger or threat
aimed at escaping potential harm
Fight/flight response
– The brain sends messages to the sympathetic nervous
system, fight/flight response
Physical system
– Activation leads to feelings of apprehension,
nervousness, difficulty concentrating, and panic
Cognitive system
– Aggression is coupled with a desire to escape the
threatening situation
Behavioral system
- future-oriented mood state
– May occur in absence of realistic danger
•Anxiety
- present-oriented emotional reaction
– Occurs in the face of a current danger and marked by
a strong escape tendency
Fear
– A group of physical symptoms of fight/flight response
- unexpectedly occur in the absence of obvious danger
or threat
• Panic
– Emotions and rituals that increase feelings of control
are common in children and teens
• Moderate fear and anxiety are adaptive
– Fears that are normal at one age can be debilitating a
few years later
– A fear defined as normal depends on its effect on the
child and how long it lasts
– The number and types of fears change over time
Normal fears
is distinguished by:
– Age-inappropriate, excessive, and disabling
anxiety about being apart from parents or away
SAD
is one of the two most common childhood
anxiety disorders
• Occurs in 4-10% of children
– It is more prevalent in girls than in boys
• More than 2/3 of children with___ have another
anxiety disorder and about half develop a depressive
disorder
SAD
has the earliest reported age of onset of anxiety
disorders (7-8 years of age) and the youngest age at
referral
SAD
Age-inappropriate persistent, irrational, or
exaggerated fear that leads to avoidance of the
feared object or event and causes impairment in
normal routine
– Lasts at least 6 months
– Extreme and disabling fear of objects or situations
that in reality pose little or no danger or threat
– Child goes to great lengths to avoid the
object/situation
Specific Phobia
– About 20% of children are affected at some point
in their lives, although few are referred for
treatment
– More common in girls
• Onset, course, and outcome
– Onset at 7-9 years - phobias involving animals,
darkness, insects, blood, and injury
– Clinical phobias are more likely than normal fears
Specific Phobia
A marked, persistent fear of social or performance
requirements that expose the child to scrutiny and
possible embarrassment
Anxiety over mundane activities
– Most common fear is doing something in front of
others
– More likely than other children to be highly
emotional, socially fearful; and inhibited, sad, and
lonely
Social Anxiety
• Failure to talk in specific social situations, even
though they may speak loudly and frequently at
home or other settings
• Estimated to occur in 0.7% of children
• Average age of onset is 3-4 years
• May be an extreme type of social phobia, but there
are differences between the two disorders
Selective Mutism
– Characteristics: sudden, overwhelming period of
intense fear or discomfort accompanied by four or
more physical and cognitive symptoms
characteristic of the fight/flight response
Panic attacks
In severe cases, high anticipatory anxiety and
situation avoidance may lead to agoraphobia
– Fear of being alone in and avoiding certain places
or situations
– Fear of having a panic attack in situations where
escape would be difficult or help is unavailable
– Does not usually develop until age 18 or older
Panic Disorder
– Excessive, uncontrollable anxiety and worry
– Worrying can be episodic or almost continuous
– Worry excessively about minor everyday
occurrences
• Accompanied by at least one somatic symptom, such
as:
– Headaches, stomach aches, muscle tension, and
trembling
Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD)
An unusual disorder of ritual and doubt
– Characterized by recurrent, time-consuming and
disturbing obsessions and compulsions
• Obsessions: persistent and intrusive thoughts, urges, or
images - experienced as intrusive and unwanted
• Compulsions: repetitive, purposeful, and intentional
behaviors or mental acts performed to relieve anxiety
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Children with anxiety disorders display a number of
associated characteristics
– Cognitive disturbances
– Physical symptoms
– Social and emotional deficits
– Anxiety and depression
persistent negative mood
Negative affectivity
persistent positive mood
Positive affectivity
– Anxieties and phobias seen as defenses against
unconscious conflicts rooted in the child’s early
upbringing
Classical psychoanalytic theory
– Fears and anxieties learned through classical
conditioning and maintained through operant
conditioning (two-factor theory)
Behavioral and learning theories
– Fearfulness is biologically rooted in the emotional
attachment needed for survival
– Early insecure attachments lead children to view
the environment as undependable, unavailable,
hostile, and threatening
• Leading to development of anxiety and avoidance
behaviors
Bowlby’s theory of attachment
