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.