short answer ch 11 Flashcards
What is the Behavior Lens principle?
- Accurate way to analyze cultural differences in anxiety
- states that child psychopathology reflects a mix of:
- actual child behaviour
- lens through which it is viewed by others in a child’s culture
What role does temperament play in the development of anxiety disorders?
High threshold for novelty = Low risk for developing anxiety disorders
Low threshold (15-20% born) = overexcited & withdraws in response to novel stimulation as infants
- fearful and anxious as toddlers
- unusually shy or withdrawn in novel/unfamiliar situations as young kids.
aka
Type of temperament = Behavioral Inhibition (BI),
- enduring trait for some & predisposing factor for later anxiety disorders ( SOC )
Discuss in detail what happens when the physical response system is activated in the face of perceived danger.
- Chemical: Adrenaline and nonadrenaline via adrenal glands
- Cardiovascular : ^ Heart rate & strength of beat ; ^ blood flow delivery of O2 to tissues.
- Respiratory: ^ Breathing speed & depth = O2 to tissues/removes waste = breathlessness, choking, chest pains
- Sweat gland: ^Sweating, cools body & skin slippery.
- Pupils widen 4 more light (blurred vision or -
Salivation decreases ( dry mouth) - Decreased activity of digestive system (nausea)
- Muscles tense for fight or flight = tension, aches and pains, and trembling
Explain how obsessive–compulsive disorder symptoms manifest in young children differently vs in older children
Young children:
- vague obsessions vs older children
- don’t feel obsessions are abnormal
- ask parents endless questions about their obsessions
- no effort to hide their discomfort
Children over 8 years:
- aware that their obsessions are abnormal
- uncomfortable talking about them
- try to hide/minimize/deny them
Distinguish between worry, anxiety, and panic
Worry, = thinking of all possible negative outcomes
- v useful normal development
- moderate doses = help children prepare for the future (double check forms, rehearse)
Anxiety = mood state of strong negative emotion & bodily symptoms (tension)
& apprehensively anticipate future danger
Panic = group of physical symptoms (of fight/ flight response) + unexpectedly occur + in absence of any threat/danger.
Discuss Kendall’s CBT treatment program Coping Cat, for treating social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder
-most carefully evaluated treatments for youngsters 7 to 13 years old who have GAD, SAD, and SOC
Approach emphasizes learning processes and the influence of contingencies and models, as well as the pivotal role of information processing. Treatment is directed at decreasing negative thinking, increasing active problem solving, and providing the child with a functional coping outlook. The intervention creates behavioural experiences with emotional involvement, while simultaneously addressing thought processes
What role, if any, do cognitive disturbances play in anxiety disorders?
Children w/ anxiety disorders:
- use more maladaptive & less adaptive cognitive coping strategies
Their cognitive coping strategies =
- catastrophizing (e.g., thinking it’s worse than it is)
- rumination (constantly thinking about it)
- less on positive reappraisal and planning
Review the three anxiety response systems and give examples from each (fight/flght response based)
Physical System.
- perceives/anticipates danger
- brain -> sympathetic nervous system= fight/flight response
- chemical and physical effects = mobilize the body for action.
Cognitive System:
- immediate search for a potential threat.
- difficult to focus on everyday tasks cz attention is consumed by looking for threat/ danger.
- may turn their search inward: “something must be wrong with me.”
Behavioural System
- urges of aggression + desire to escape threat/situation (but social constraints may prevent both)
- wanting to attacking your professor pre-exam but you need to pass so you inhibit the urge
- may show up as foot tapping, fidgeting, or irritability OR as escape/avoidance via doctor’s note/defer/fake
The best treatment for OCD is
exposure and response prevention (ERP)
What are some of the normal worries, anxieties, and rituals/routines of children?
- most frequent normal anxieties = separation anxiety, test anxiety, overconcern about competence, need for reassurance, and anxiety about harm to a parent
- In moderate doses, worry can help children — checking their homework before they hand it in / rehearsing for an upcoming class play.
- Ritualistic, repetitive activity is extremely common in young children
- e.g. bedtime ritual of saying good night —addressing people in a certain order or giving a certain number of hugs and kisses
- Normal ritualistic behaviors in young children include:
> preferences for sameness in the environment (e.g., watching the same DVD over and over again),
> rigid likes and dislikes, preferences for symmetry (e.g., carrying a toy in each hand),
> awareness of minute details or imperfections in toys or clothes (e.g., being bothered by a minuscule thread on a jacket sleeve),
> arranging things so they are “just right” (e.g., insisting that different foods not touch each other on the plate)
Give some examples of behavior of a child with separation anxiety disorder (SAD)
Younger Children:
- vague feelings of anxiety
- repeated nightmares about being kidnapped or killed or about the death of a parent.
- excessive demands for parental attention (clinging to parents, shadowing their every move)
- reluctant to sleep separated from parents,
Older children have difficulty being alone:
- in a room during the day
- sleeping alone even at home
- running errands, going to school, or going to camp.
- have specific fantasies of illness, accidents, kidnapping, or physical harm
What are some symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and which symptom distinguishes GAD from other anxiety disorders?
For children with GAD:
- worrying can be episodic/continuous
- can’t relax
- physical symptoms (muscle tension, headaches, nausea)
- GAD is widespread and focuses on a variety of everyday life events**
Symptoms of GAD:
- irritability, difficulty concentrating, and a lack of energy, difficulty falling asleep, and restless sleep
In other anxiety disorders:
- specific situations or objects
- e.g. separation, social performance, animals or insects, or bodily sensations.
List the five subtypes of specific phobias and give an example of the focus of fear for each one
Fears of :
- Animals or insects (e.g., dogs or spiders);
- Natural events (e.g., heights or thunderstorms);
- Blood, injuries, or medical procedures (e.g., seeing blood or receiving an injection);
- Specific situations (e.g., flying in airplanes, riding on a bus).
Similarities (e.g., age at onset, gender, treatment response)
Differences (e.g., focus of fear, physiological reaction, neural response patterns, impairment, comorbidity)
Distinguish between obsessions and compulsions, and discuss the relationship between them
Obsessions = persistent & intrusive thoughts/urges/images
- intrusive and unwanted
- cause significant anxiety or distress.
Compulsions = repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behaviours/mental acts in response to obsessions to suppress them.
- beahviours = hand washing
- mental acts = repeating words silently
- Most children with OCD have multiple obsessions and compulsions
- certain compulsions are commonly associated with specific obsessions.
(e. g. washing and cleaning rituals for contamination obsessions)
Why are panic attacks rare in young children?
- young children lack the cognitive ability to make catastrophic misinterpretations that accompany panic attacks
- (“my heart is beating rapidly and I’m sitting here watching TV like I always do—I must be going crazy”)
