What are the most common causes of anxiety in children?

© gagilas (Flickr) father & son
© gagilas (Flickr)
What is general anxiety?
Definition
It is defined as a feeling of fear in children as a result of an external stimulus or event in the life of a child.

Cause
The main cause of separation anxiety in children is the fear that their parents will leave them.

Symptoms
A young child responds to the separation by crying when the parents leave. When he/she does not see the parent, the child tries to keep an image of the parent in his mind.
He is happy when the parent comes back.

Classification
Generalised anxiety is experienced in infants from eight months up to two years. Its intensity increases between 10 to 18 months.

By the time the child turns two, the symptoms should disappear.
However, when separation anxiety does not resolve by itself after the child is two years old, the condition becomes a separation anxiety disorder.
It is considered a disorder because this behaviour is not appropriate for this particular age level.

Furthermore, the distress impairs the functioning of a child is only categorised as an abnormal reaction if the condition lasts for more than a month.
Separation anxiety disorder
Overview
Separation anxiety disorder is defined as an excessive fear when the child is away from home or when he/she does not see the people familiar to him/her. These could be parents, relatives or caregivers.

Triggers of separation anxiety disorder
The child is afraid and does not want to be left alone.
The child is fearful when the parents leave the house.
He/she wants to know where the parents are leaving and when they are coming back.
At night time, it is difficult for the child to sleep alone unless someone is in the room with him.

Consequences
As a result of this excessive fear of separation, the child may not even want to go anywhere outside of the home and refuse to go to school.

Treatment
To treat anxiety separation disorder, parents, doctors and specialists work closely to ensure that the child gets rid of the severe anxieties, return to school and resumes normal day to day functioning.
Treatment methods consist of psychotherapy and anxiety-reducing drugs.