NRNP 6665 Week 5 Assignment Paper

NRNP 6665 Week 5 Assignment Paper

NRNP 6665 Week 5 Assignment Paper

Week 5 Assignment

A Guide to Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Image: Harvard Health
Anxiety disorder is the most prevalent condition among children and adolescents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2023), anxiety disorder that may involve panic and excessive are more common among younger children and adolescents than older ones. Imperatively, anxiety disorders affect one in every eight children (Kendall et al., 2021). Untreated, children and adolescents with anxiety disorder are at an elevated risk of struggling in schools and in their interactions as adults with their peers. Anxiety disorders include;

ORDER A CUSTOM PAPER NOW

 Generalized anxiety disorder
 Panic disorder
 Separation anxiety disorder
 Social anxiety disorder
 Selective mutism
 Specific phobias
 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) and
 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder
Irrespective of the disorder, anxiety leads to fear or being preoccupied which affects a child or an adolescent’s overall happiness or ability to do basic things. Each of the anxiety disorder has specific symptoms (Kodish et al., 2021). However, generalized signs of anxiety, especially those experienced by individuals with generalized anxiety disorders include:
 Recurrence of fears about certain normal parts of life
 Excessive worry most of the time, for weeks on end
 Physical complaints or fatigue
 Inability to concentrate
 Insomnia, especially at night
 Fear of social interactions
 Fear of separation from a loved one
 Frequent irritability
 Poor appetite or overeating

Causes of Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Several aspects and situations can cause anxiety disorder among children and adolescents. Genetic factors can lead to anxiety disorders as studies show that parents who are anxious are likely to have children who also suffer from anxiety (AACAP, 2022). However, environmental factors at play are critical to developing anxiety disorders. These include:
 Death of a close relative or friend
 Frequent movements like moving school and houses
 Parents fighting or arguing
 School-associated issues like poor graded or bullying
 Abuse and neglect
 Others include poor sleep hygiene
 Spending more time on screens &
 Poor connectedness with parents or caregivers
Diagnosing Anxiety Disorder

Image: Google
Effective diagnosis of anxiety disorder requires two approaches or tools. These include;
• Psychiatric evaluation or assessment and
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fifth edition (DSM-5-TR)
The diagnosis entails a clinical assessment and a thorough psychosocial history of the adolescent or child. Psychiatrists can also use rating scales for screening like Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, and General Anxiety Disorder-7 (Méndez et al., 2022). Physical symptoms caused by anxiety in children can complicate assessment. Consequently, thorough testing for physical disorder can be conducted before healthcare providers consider anxiety disorder.
Pharmacological Treatments
The pharmacological interventions include use of antidepressants to reduce the effects of anxiety. These include:
 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and to a lower level
 Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI)
 Tricyclic antidepressants are recommended for long-term treatment
 Benzodiazepines relieves acute symptoms for those with anxiety disorders
Non-Pharmacological Treatments
Two core non-pharmacological interventions are used in treating anxiety disorder. These include:
 Exposure-based therapy
 Cognitive-behavioral therapy
In most cases, the use of pharmacotherapy is improved by having non-pharmacotherapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Community Resources
Community resources are essential in identifying and detecting anxiety disorders early for effective interventions. These include access to online resources by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Psychological Association (APA) as well as resource centers in the community dedicated to helping parents address anxiety among their children, especially teens.

References
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) (2022). Anxiety Disorders
Resource Center. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Resource_Centers/Anxiety_Disorder_Resource_Center/Home.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2023 March 8). Anxiety and Depression in
Children. https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/depression.html
Kendall, P. C., Swan, A. J., Carper, M. M., & Hoff, A. L. (2018). Anxiety disorders among
children and adolescents. In J. N. Butcher & P. C. Kendall (Eds.), APA handbook of psychopathology: Child and adolescent psychopathology (pp. 213–230). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000065-011
Kodish, I., Rockhill, C., & Varley, C. (2022). Pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders in children
and adolescents. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 439-452. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2011.13.4/ikodish
Méndez, F. J., Orgilés, M., Espada, J. P., García-Fernández, J. M., & Essau, C. A. (2022).
Anxiety Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence: Psychopathology, Assessment, and Treatment. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 930299. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.930299

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Patient education is an effective tool in supporting compliance and treatment for a diagnosis. It is important to consider effective ways to educate patients and their families about a diagnosis—such as coaching, brochures, or videos—and to recognize that the efficacy of any materials may differ based on the needs and learning preferences of a particular patient. Because patients or their families may be overwhelmed with a new diagnosis, it is important that materials provided by the practitioner clearly outline the information that patients need to know.

For this Assignment, you will pretend that you are a contributing writer to a health blog. You are tasked with explaining important information about an assigned mental health disorder in language appropriate for child/adolescent patients and/or their caregivers.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.

Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

TO PREPARE

By Day 1, your Instructor will assign a mood or anxiety disorder diagnosis for you to use for this Assignment.

Research signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.

THE ASSIGNMENT

In a 300- to 500-word blog post written for a patient and/or caregiver audience, explain signs and symptoms for your diagnosis, pharmacological treatments, nonpharmacological treatments, and appropriate community resources and referrals.

Although you are not required to respond to colleagues, collegial discussion is welcome.

BY DAY 7 OF WEEK 5

Submit your Assignment.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Before submitting your final assignment, you can check your draft for authenticity. To check your draft, access the Turnitin Drafts from the Start Here area.

To submit your completed assignment, save your Assignment as WK5Assgn+last name+first initial.

Then, click on Start Assignment near the top of the page.

Next, click on Upload File and select Submit Assignment for review.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Rubric