Title
Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Do Not Have Peer Problems, Just Fewer Friends
Abbreviated Journal Title
Child Psychiat. Hum. Dev.
Keywords
Generalized anxiety disorder; Peer relations; Social competence; Social; anxiety disorder; CHILDHOOD SOCIAL PHOBIA; OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER; TERM-FOLLOW-UP; EARLY ADOLESCENCE; MIDDLE CHILDHOOD; PSYCHOPATHOLOGY; PERCEPTIONS; RELIABILITY; ACCEPTANCE; WITHDRAWAL; Psychology, Developmental; Pediatrics; Psychiatry
Abstract
A common assumption is that all youth with anxiety disorders (AD) experience impaired peer relationships relative to healthy control children. Social impairments have been identified among youth with certain AD (e.g., social anxiety disorder; SAD), but less is known about the peer relationships of children with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). We therefore compared the interpersonal functioning of youth with GAD, SAD, and controls (6-13 years). Despite having relatively fewer friends overall, children with GAD did not differ from controls in terms of the likelihood of having a best friend, participation in groups/clubs, and parent ratings of social competence. In comparison, youth with SAD were less socially competent, had fewer friends and difficulty making new friends compared to controls. Findings suggest that peer difficulties are not a universal feature of all childhood AD and highlight a need to better understand the social experiences and functioning of children with GAD.
Journal Title
Child Psychiatry & Human Development
Volume
42
Issue/Number
6
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Document Type
Article
Language
English
First Page
712
Last Page
723
WOS Identifier
ISSN
0009-398X
Recommended Citation
"Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Do Not Have Peer Problems, Just Fewer Friends" (2011). Faculty Bibliography 2010s. 1864.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/facultybib2010/1864
Comments
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