Anxiety Resources for Youth/Children

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All children experience anxiety. Anxiety in children is expected and normal at specific times in development. For example, from approximately age 8 months through the preschool years, healthy youngsters may show intense distress (anxiety) at times of separation from their parents or other caregivers with whom they are close. Young children may have short-lived fears, (such as fear of the dark, storms, animals, or strangers). Anxious children are often overly tense or uptight. Some may seek a lot of reassurance, and their worries may interfere with activities. Parents should not discount a child's fears. Because anxious children may also be quiet, compliant and eager to please, their difficulties may be missed. Parents should be alert to the signs of severe anxiety so they can intervene early to prevent complications.

Glossary of Symptoms and Mental Illnesses

• Anxiety
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

​Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much anxiety is "normal" for a child?
2. What are the signs and symptoms of anxiety?
3. What causes anxiety disorders?
4. How are anxiety disorders treated?

Facts for Families

• Chronic Illness and Children
• Helping Children Cope
• Military Families
• Parents with Cancer: Tips for Talking to Kids
• Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents: Part III
• Sleep Problems
• Stress Management and Teens
• The Anxious Child
• Panic Disorder in Children and Adolescents
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents Part I: How Medications are Used
• Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents Part II: Types of Medications
• When To Seek Help For Your Child
• Where To Find Help For Your Child
• Understanding Your Mental Health Insurance

Video Resources/Clips

• Dr. John Walkup discusses how to help teenagers with anxiety in a 2-minute video from the Child Mind Institute
• ​​ADHD and Anxiety in Children
• What Are Appropriate Worries? - Youth Anxiety Center
• Protecting Your Child - Youth Anxiety Center
• When Anxious Children Become Anxious Adolescents
• Part-1 John Walkup, MD
  Anxiety in typically and developmentally disabled children and adolescents" by John Walkup, Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Director. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian.
• Part-2 John Walkup
  Anxiety in typically and developmentally disabled children and adolescents" by John Walkup, Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Director. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian.
• Part 3 John Walkup, MD
  Anxiety in typically and developmentally disabled children and adolescents" by John Walkup, Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Director. Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian.

Clinical Resources
Clinical resources to support clinical decision making.

• Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorders
• Practice Parameters for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Additional Clinical Resources

• Lifelong Learning Modules
• Facts for Families: What is Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents?

          SCREEN for CHILD ANXIETY RELATED EMOTIONAL DISORDERS (SCARED)
The SCARED is a child and parent self-report instrument used to screen for childhood anxiety disorders including general anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic disorder and social phobia.

• SCARED Child Form 
• SCARED Parent Form
• More SCARED Resources

Research and Training
Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy for Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Children and Adolescents: An Evidence-Based Medicine Review
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry:
June 2015 - Volume 54 - Issue 6 - pp 454-463

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of Duloxetine for the Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry:
April 2015 - Volume 54 - Issue 4 - pp 283-293

Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Past 10 Years
Journal of Amer Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Special Articles: PD onlh.
A review of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in anxiety and depression:

Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy for Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Children and Adolescents: An Evidence-Based Medicine Review
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry:
August 2004 - Volume 43 - Issue 8 - pp 930-959

A recent important study comparing medication and CBT in treating anxiety
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sertraline, or a Combination in Childhood Anxiety
 
New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 359:2753-2766 December 25, 2008 Number 26
The use of imaging Technology and Physiological Measurements to Investigate Changes in Biological Stress Systems and Brain Development in Maltreated Children with PTSD

Treatment Resources for Families:
Fact sheets are relevant to anxiety disorders.

• When to Seek Help
• Where to Find Help
• Understanding Your Mental Health Insurance
• Click here to find a child and adolescent psychiatrist in your area.
  
  

Related Support Group Web Sites

• National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Anxiety Disorders Association of America
• Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
• Gateway to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Information