Anxiety and Depression as a Comorbidity in Children and Adolescents The name of the article is Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: 20 Years After from the website link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC...Read More
~Posted on
Nov 2019
Anxiety
and Depression as a Comorbidity in Children and Adolescents
The name of the article is Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression in
Children and Adolescents: 20 Years After from the website link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006306/. I chose the article because
depression and anxiety are prevalent among the youth and this ends up impairing
them whether mentally or functionally. The comorbidity of depression and
anxiety is one of the reasons why most youths are abusing drugs while others
are diagnosed with bipolar disorders. The research is a work in progress to
establish the reasons for and events when there is co-occurrence of the two
mental health disorders and possible remedies.
The research was done by Cummings M,
Caporino E, and Kendall C and is an extension of earlier research conducted by
Brady and Kendall (1992) that left gaps for further research to be done. In his
earlier research, Kendall and his partner had discovered that depression and
anxiety in youth might be linked, but they somehow differ. The journal article
delves into the link between anxiety disorder and depression disorder among
children and adolescents by looking into several research works that have been
done since then. It then reviews current conceptual models and suggests
multiple pathways as the model that best explains the correlation.
Past studies already show that
depression and anxiety co-occur more often than not especially among children
and adolescents. 15 to 75 percent of youth with depression also bear symptoms
of anxiety disorders while 10 to 15 percent of those with anxiety disorders
have depressive disorders. Anxiety mostly occurs in childhood while depression
occurs mostly during adolescence. Therefore, the rate of comorbidity varies
with age. Prevalent anxiety disorders among the youth include;
•
Social
phobia
•
Generalized
anxiety disorder and
•
Separation
anxiety disorder
Comorbid people are said to be more
likely to attempt suicide, be less socially stable, less likely to prosper
academically, and less likely to be satisfied in life or with their jobs.
Theoretical Models
Models proposed to explain the comorbidity
of anxiety and depression include;
Negative Affectivity
Agrees with models proposing the
heterogeneity of anxiety disorders. It also suggests that distress disorders
and depression are likely to overlap.
Tripartite Model
The model suggests that a general NA
factor is shared for both depression and anxiety thus comorbidity between the
two disorders.
Behavioral inhibition systems &
Behavioral Activation Systems
Both are brain systems. Extreme
functioning of BIS/BAS may lead to the risk of mental disorders. BIS is closely
associated with anxiety while BAS is related to impulsive behaviours
Multiple Pathways Model
Pathway 1 suggests that untreated
anxiety in youth increases their risk for comorbid depression. Pathway 2 is
made up of youth who are highly susceptible to depression and anxiety, and they
may respond to the same trigger with these feelings simultaneously. Pathway 3
involves youth who are highly susceptible to depression which breeds anxiety.
Both mental disorders are said to be
responsive to selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Psychosocial
treatment like CBT has also been frequently studied as a remedy for anxiety and
depression in youth.
