Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Children with generalized anxiety disorder (or overanxious disorder of childhood) worry excessively about all manner of upcoming events and occurrences. They worry unduly about their academic performance or sporting activities, about being on time, or even about natural disasters such as earthquakes. The worry persists even when the child is not being judged and has always performed well in the past. Because of their anxiety, children may be overly conforming, perfectionist, or unsure of themselves. They tend to redo tasks if there are any imperfections. They tend to seek approval and need constant reassurance about their performance and their anxieties (DSM-IV). About half of all adults seeking treatment for this disorder report that it began in childhood or adolescence, but the proportion of children with this disorder who retain the problem into adulthood is unknown.

Source: Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, Chapter 3 Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Related Terms

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Separation Anxiety Disorder
• Selective Mutism
• Social Anxiety Disorder

Related Resources:

Coping with Children's Anxiety
Strategies for parents to cope with children's anxiety and improve well-being at home and school.

Anxiety Disorders Net Links
Additional resources for parents of children with anxiety disorders.

Elsewhere on the Web:

DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria - Generalized Anxiety Disorder
What the professionals use to diagnose this disorder. BehaveNet Clinical Capsules