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One-year stability, change and incidence in anxiety symptoms among early adolescents in the general population

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Abstract

To examine prospectively the stability, changes, and incidence in DSM-IV-related anxiety symptom clusters in a community sample of adolescents. On two occasions, 1 year apart, 946 Norwegian adolescents aged 13–16 years completed the SCARED, a 41-item multidimensional anxiety self-report scale that measures the levels of five principal DSM-IV-related anxiety symptom clusters. Seventy-three percent of the adolescents participated in the study at baseline, and only 7 % were lost to follow-up. Both sexes in all age cohorts, except girls aged 14–15 years, showed the same 1-year developmental pattern of stable scores, or small reductions in the total anxiety score, for all DSM-IV-related anxiety symptom clusters. Adolescents defined as “high anxiety scorers” showed a girl:boy ratio of 4:1. Whereas approximately half these students remained high scorers at the 1-year follow-up, the same proportion returned to normal anxiety levels. The 1-year incidence of high-level anxiety was 8.2 % for the whole sample, 12.6 % for the girls and 3.4 % for the boys. These results underscore the need for improved identification of adolescents in the general population with stable high anxiety levels, as opposed to those with transient high anxiety. The normative findings of this study also provide reference data with which to evaluate individual changes in clinical practice and the results of efficacy trials, including 1-year follow-up evaluations.

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Notes

  1. Abbreviations: ANX = total anxiety score, GAD = generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, PD = panic disorder symptoms, SAD = separation anxiety symptoms, SA = social phobia symptoms, SP = school phobia symptoms.

  2. In Norway, these schools (“Ungdomsskole”) are compulsory for all pupils aged approximately 13–16 years of age. Here, we use the term “junior high school”.

  3. Wren et al. [23] found four factors, excluding the school phobia factor. Muris et al. [24] reported the same four factors in an African sample, also excluding the SP factor.

  4. The age range included all pupils with the actual age at T1 or T2, respectively. For example, the 13-year age group included all pupils aged between 13 years and 13 years, 11 months, and 31 days.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

    Einar Leikanger & Bo Larsson

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Helse Sunnmøre HF, Volda Hospital, Volda, Norway

    Einar Leikanger

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  1. Einar Leikanger
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  2. Bo Larsson
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Correspondence to Einar Leikanger.

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Leikanger, E., Larsson, B. One-year stability, change and incidence in anxiety symptoms among early adolescents in the general population. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 21, 493–501 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-012-0284-7

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