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Anxiety Disorders in Later Life

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

Synonyms

Anxiety disorders in older adults; Late-life anxiety disorders

Definition

Anxiety disorders are generally characterized by both excessive fear and irrational, fearful thoughts that are difficult to control and negatively affect daily functioning. Additionally, avoidance behaviors are often used as a strategy to reduce those excessive feelings of fear and anxiety. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders across the life span. With the introduction of DSM-5 in 2013 (American Psychiatric Association 2013), obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and acute stress disorder moved from the anxiety disorder section into two separate sections: obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. DSM-5 anxiety disorders seen in older adults include panic disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and specific phobia.

Introduction

Several epidemiologic studies have revealed that...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pro Persona Institute for Integrated Mental Health Care, Centre for Anxiety Disorders “Overwaal,”, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Gert-Jan Hendriks

  2. Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Gert-Jan Hendriks

  3. Radboud University Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Gert-Jan Hendriks

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  1. Gert-Jan Hendriks
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gert-Jan Hendriks .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

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© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Hendriks, GJ. (2017). Anxiety Disorders in Later Life. In: Pachana, N.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-082-7_64

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