Anxiety Disorders among Children/Adolescents in Tirana, Albania: Descriptive Data about Socio-Demographic Factors and Symptoms

Abstract

Anxiety symptoms during childhood are more common than had previously thought and they represent a risk factor to develop anxiety disorders during the life. This article is part of a broader study on parenting styles and anxiety disorders ongoing in Albania in children/adolescents. The aim it is to describe sociodemografic factors of the study group, the frequency and characteristics of the predominant anxiety symptoms. Method: 50 consecutive children, who attended Tirana Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Service, aged 8-20 years old (42% male), were assessed using self-report forms and were interviewed from a child/adolescent psychiatrist, during a three month period April - September 2011. Results: The mean age of the study group was 9.5 (SD = 4.436). More than one in four (26.41%) children resulted having higher scores than cut off, in all anxiety disorders. Significant differences were found in all dependent variables based on gender of the subjects, (P < .001), on age (P < .001) and correlation between different variables (P < .001). In terms of gender, the changes were significant in all subscales, with higher scores in girls than in boys (P < .001); the only exception was related to the symptoms of OCD, in which there weren’t significant differences. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of early identification of anxiety symptoms in children, aiming early intervention and prevention of these disorders.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n2p295