Prevalence of anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence

Environmental factors that may consistently influence the risk of developing anxiety disorders throughout childhood include stressful life events and parenting practices, such as childhood trauma, separation from attachment figures, and forms of overprotective child-rearing practices that limit a child’s ability to learn coping mechanisms for managing frightening experiences.¹

References:

1. Penninx BW, Pine DS, Holmes EA, Reif A. Anxiety disorders. Lancet 2021; 397 (10277): 914–927.
2. Copeland WE, Angold A, Shanahan L, Costello EJ. Longitudinal patterns of anxiety from childhood to adulthood: the Great Smoky Mountains Study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2014; 53 (1): 21–33.
3. Ormel J, Raven D, van Oort F, et al. Mental health in Dutch adolescents: a TRAILS report on prevalence, severity, age of onset, continuity and co-morbidity of DSM disorders. Psychol Med 2015; 45 (2): 345–360.