Sammanfattning
Anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental disorders among children and adolescents with a prevalence rate of between 5-10%. Most anxiety disorders have an onset during childhood or adolescence and tend to be chronic if left untreated. Childhood anxiety disorders are highly comorbid with additional anxiety disorders or other psychiatric problems and often lead to difficulties in adolescence and adulthood, such as depressive disorders or substance abuse. Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents reflect a serious psychiatric problem and early identification and treatment is important in order to reduce personal suffering, improve functioning and reduce health care costs. Presently, the most effective known treatments for childhood anxiety disorders are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medications, specifically the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), with CBT being first line-choice. Despite advances in treatment a number of issues remain to be further explored such as long-term stability and outcome of both psychological and pharmacological treatment.