This paper examines the various symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder among children and adolescents, the refusal of children diagnosed with Separation Anxiety Disorder to go to school, and the treatments that are used to treat this disorder. Studies have shown that Separation Anxiety Disorder is the third most common anxiety disorder among children. Symptoms are fairly easy to recognize, but must be addressed quickly. Refusal to go to school is one of the most significant consequences of this disorder. Treatments are being made available to children who suffer from this disorder and advances in research are being made.
As human beings, we all have the capability of experiencing emotions and feelings. People can experience happiness, sadness, joy, sorrow, pain, excitement, and many other emotions. For example, how would one expect a child to feel if their parental figure got deployed to Iraq for a year? One feeling that is quite common, especially among adolescents and children is anxiety, more specifically, separation anxiety. Although many people are unaware of its existence, social anxiety disorder is the third most common psychiatric disorder, after depression and alcoholism, according to the Medical Research Council on Anxiety Disorders. Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) affects between 3% and 13% of adolescents (Eisen & Schaefer,
2005). While some people believe that separation anxiety is simply a fear of being alone that is caused by simple factors such as smothering a child or never leaving a child in the care of another human being, this disorder is a complex and multifaceted emotion that can be caused by several factors such as changes in the environment, stress, or the build of a family. This paper will focus on ...
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Works Cited
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Eisen, N. R., & Schaefer, C. E. (2005). Separation anxiety in children and adolescents, an individualized approach to assessment and treatment. The Guilford Press.
Hughes, A. A., Furr, J. M., Sood, E. D., Barmish, A. J., & Kendall, P. C. (2009). Anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in parents of children with anxiety disorders. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 40, 405-419.
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Perwin, A.R., & Bernstein G.A. (2004). Anxiety Disorders. Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 4(2), 305-322.
Antwone is currently in the later adolescent psychosocial crisis stage of intimacy vs. isolation, the development task that must be completed are
The Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS-2) is a revision of the Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS) created by Cecil Reynolds and Bert Richmond in 1985 (Reynolds & Richmond, 2008). The RCMAS-2 includes an updated standardization sample, improved psychometrics, and broadened content (Reynolds & Richmond, 2008). Although these revisions occurred, the brevity, elementary reading level, and content-based item clusters were retained, offering an updated and effective tool for understanding and treating anxiety in school-aged children (Reynolds & Richmond, 2008).
Susie’s mother opened the door to let Molly, Susie’s babysitter, inside. Ten-month old Susie seemed happy to see Molly. Susie then observed her mother put her jacket on and Susie’s face turned from smiling to sad as she realized that her mother was going out. Molly had sat for Susie many times in the past month, and Susie had never reacted like this before. When Susie’s mother returned home, the sitter told her that Susie had cried until she knew that her mother had left and then they had a nice time playing with toys until she heard her mother’s key in the door. Then Susie began crying once again.
Family therapy is often needed when families go through transitions such as separations between parents and divorce. According to research, “the power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interactions” (Nichols, & Davis, p.18), as problems need to be addressed at their source. The children who are the most vulnerable, when parents decide to separate, exhibit symptoms which are exaggerations of their parent’s problems (Nichols, & Davis, p.18). Frank and Walt Berkman are the examples of how children cope and adapt to the stressors of family separations such as marital separations and
In many ways, attitudes about babies and separation are cultural. In some other cultures, babies in Cameron age are rarely separate from their mothers. In addition, I believe that the mother may suffering separation anxiety. Parents worry when they leave their babies in daycare especially for first time. “They worry if the caregiver will really know how to care for their children. They feel loss because this may be the first time their children are away this long time. They may also feel loss because they work full time and cannot be to help their children adjust in person. They may feel guilty if they have to leave a crying child and go off to
One important component of Attachment theory talks about fear children have in which children have less fear when they are aware of their primary caregivers’ availability and affection leads to a secure attachment to form between a caregiver and child. On the other hand, Erikson states that if the virtue of hope is not established then an infant will have a fear and start to mistrust and this will affect the development. This will have an effect on the confidence that the children develop during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. A child can start to present separation anxiety and stranger anxiety at around 9 to 18 months a child had a stranger anxiety when they were young, that may affect their development based on the type of Patterns of attachment are secure, avoidant, and ambivalent. If a child had a secure attachment he will probably not have any form of trust issues and long-lasting relationships, a secure attachment will impact his self-esteem and have a good healthy relationship with his parents and friends and seek out social support from others because of him being able to function by himself in his adolescence and adulthood. On the other hand, if a child experienced avoidant or
The Beck Anxiety Inventory was designed by Aaron T. Beck and is self report scale that consists of 21 items. The items are short and straightforward, making it easy to read and comprehend. All items are related to anxiety and describe a symptom of anxiety that is rate on a four point likert scale according to severity. The answers range from 0-3 and the responses range from “not at all” to “severely; I could barely stand it” and all items are added for a total score. The instructions on the test ask for the respondent to “indicate how much you have been bothered by each symptom during the past week, including today, by placing an X in the corresponding space in the column next to each symptom” (Dowd, 2008). The assessment is intended for adolescents and adults and can be administered individually or in a group setting. An additional copy of the inventory test is also available in Spanish. It was originally created from a sample of 810 outpatients of that were predominately affected by mood and anxiety disorders and research on the original development is described as informative and thorough.
...e stage of life where socializing with her peers are very important. She wants friends and often feels lonely. Amanda will learn alternative ways to communicate and express her feelings with the support of his family and teachers. Separation anxiety is the onset of school phobia. With treatment, Amanda will grow out separation anxiety and school phobia once she reaches adolescence.
March, J. S., (1997). Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children: Technical manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi Health Systems, Inc.
As a child, have you ever felt a sense of isolation or alienation? At some point in our lives, we may feel as though we don't belong or that we are alone. There has been a time at one point or another where everyone has felt this way. This sense of isolation can lead to constant fear for one's own safety as well as feeling unwanted. As a child, I would soon know the feeling of alienation, and the potential danger that it would bring.
For example, toddlers and primary school aged children are often the most anxious and are afraid of being separated from their parents whereas adolescents tend to be anxious about their loss of independence and privacy. This means that a good knowledge of children’s developmental stages is essential if the
National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Studying anxiety disorders. NIH Medline plus, 5, 13-15. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml
The definition of anxiety by the American Psychological Association is, “...an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure”(APA) Anxiety disorders affect 1 in 8 children, the largest source of the anxiety being stress. An article by the Huffington Post says, “31 percent of teens report feeling overwhelmed as a result of stress, 30 percent say that they feel sad or depressed as a result of stress, and 36 percent report feeling tired
Anxiety has a main definition; a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Although, it has its single definition, each person diagnosed with anxiety has different symptoms. With that, some have more severe cases of the actual diagnosis. It has been noted that anxiety has had an increase in teens recently. In the last 30 years, the statistics for anxiety in fifteen to sixteen year olds have doubled for both girls and boys (“Increased Levels of Anxiety…” 1). It is said, “in societal moments like the one we are in…it often feels as if ours is the Age of Anxiety”(Henig 1). Anxiety affects teenagers profusely because the emotions of a teenager are more vulnerable than those of an adult. The brain of a teenager is not fully developed and the stress put on teenagers to start putting their life together takes a toll on their emotions. The daily life and activities are interfered with by anxiety when the amount of stress put on a teenager becomes unbearable. Unfortunately, the effects of anxiety become so intense that the mental health is eventually toyed with. So many different components of life contribute to anxiety and cannot be prevented.
Young children, up to age five or six, are the most confused and the most disoriented by their parents’ separation. They often fear they are going to be abandoned by their parents, which causes great anxiety. The loss of a parent is extremely sad to a child of this age because they feel that their needs are not going to be attended to as well as they had before, when their needs are not going to be attended to as well as they had before, when their family was together. Many of the children in this group are worried that they will be left without a family or their parents might have money troubles and they will be deprived of food and toys. These thoughts that children of this age have cause them to have feelings of guilt, being unloved and fear of being alone. Some children will be extremely sad and show signs of depression and even sleeplessness. They might feel rejected by the parent who left and think that it is all their fault, that they weren’t good children and their parents stopped loving them. They also sometimes have increased tantrums, or may cry more easily than usual. Children at this age may develop physical complaints, like headaches, or stomachaches due to this depressing situation and time they are going thr...