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Pharmacological Treatment for Phobias and Anxiety Disorders

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Handbook of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

Anxiety disorders in childhood are quite ­common, affecting between 6 and 20% of all children (Costello, Mustillo, Erkanli, Keeler, & Angold, 2003). Anxiety disorders can adversely impact social and academic functioning as well as self-esteem (Mendlowicz & Stein, 2000). Children with anxiety disorders grow up to having greater rates of depression, new anxiety disorders, substance abuse, educational underachievement, and suicide attempts than the general population (Achenbach, Howell, McConaughy, & Stanger, 1995; Ferdinand, Verhulst, & Wiznitzer, 1995; Pine, Cohen, Gurley, Brook, & Ma, 1998; Woodward & Fergusson, 2001).

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the National Institute of Mental Health support of the Yale Child Study Center Research Training Program (MHB), NARSAD (MHB), Trichotillomania Learning Center (MHB), the National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program (MHB), and the APIRE/Eli Lilly Psychiatric Research Fellowship (MHB).

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Bloch, M.H., McGuire, J.F. (2011). Pharmacological Treatment for Phobias and Anxiety Disorders. In: McKay, D., Storch, E. (eds) Handbook of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7784-7_23

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