Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents in School
Many children and adolescents who either have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or have high levels of anxiety experience difficulty in the school setting. Students with anxiety disorders or high levels of anxiety have more difficulty learning new material, receive poorer grades, and do not perform as well on standardized and classroom tests. These students may struggle in core courses such as reading and math. They are also more likely to repeat a grade and drop out of school.
Besides experiencing academic difficulties, children and adolescents with anxiety disorders experience poor peer relationships. Because of cognitive distortions or maladaptive thinking patterns, these children and adolescents view their relationships with others more negatively. These negative perceptions of their relationships with others reduce the likelihood of interactions with peers. These individuals may feel socially isolated and experience depression and feelings of hopelessness.
Symptoms of anxiety can significantly interfere with children or adolescents' social-emotional and academic functioning. In light of these concerns, children and adolescents with an anxiety disorder may be eligible for special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). Specifically, anxiety disorders are categorized under the emotional disturbance (ED) category of disabilities. To meet the criteria for an emotional disturbance, a student must exhibit one or more of the following conditions, and the condition(s) must have occurred over a long period of time and to a marked degree and must adversely affect the individual's educational performance:
1.An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
2.An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
3.Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
4.A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
5.A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
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Assessment of individuals With an Anxiety Disorder
To detect an anxiety disorder or high levels of anxiety in individuals of different ages, a multimethod approach to the assessment of anxiety is recommended. A multi-method approach involves the use of different types of measures completed by multiple informants across multiple settings to detect anxiety and comorbid conditions. A variety of assessment techniques, including clinical interviews, rating scales, direct observations, self-report, and psychophysiological measures, are available to assess anxiety in individuals of different ages. Many of these measures are completed by multiple informants (self, parent, spouse, and/or teacher) across multiple settings (home, school, and/or work).
Treatment of Anxiety
Once an assessment or evaluation is completed and high levels of anxiety are detected or an anxiety disorder is diagnosed, assessment results are linked to interventions to ameliorate anxiety and its negative effects. Different treatment strategies are available to address anxiety, including pharmacotherapy, behavioral strategies, and cognitive-behavioral interventions. Additional strategies may also be used to address comorbid issues. Thus, a multimodal approach, consisting of two or more interventions, is often used to alleviate an individual's anxiety and its negative effects.
Pharmacological treatment is one means of alleviating anxiety in individuals. Medications that have been used to treat anxiety include benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and buspirone. Medication is often used in combina-tion with other treatments such as cognitive-behavior therapy because although the medication may reduce anxiety symptoms, it does not help individuals learn to cope effectively with their anxiety.
Behavioral interventions are another means of reducing anxiety in individuals. Relaxation training, systematic desensitization (graduated exposure), and modeling are some of the behavioral strategies used to treat anxiety. These strategies have been shown to be effective. Relaxation training may include deep breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation involves individuals learning to relax and tense different muscle groups in order to become more relaxed. Relaxation training may also be found in systematic desensitization. In systematic desensitization, a fear hierarchy is created, consisting typically of 10 to 15 steps evenly spaced. For example, if an individual had a fear of large dogs, the first step in the fear hierarchy may consist of a discussion about dogs. The second step may involve looking at a picture of dogs. The third step of the fear hierarchy may involve driving past a pet shop and so on until the last step, when the individual pets a real-life dog. The purpose of creating a fear hierarchy is to gradually expose the individual, step by step, to the feared stimulus. The graduated exposure can be conducted using imagery or real-life experiences. Relaxation or another incompatible response to anxiety is induced along the way to calm the individual as graduated exposure of the feared stimulus occurs. Modeling is another behavioral strategy used to reduce fears and anxieties. Modeling is based on social learning theory in which an individual observes, either live or on film, a person who interacts successfully with the feared stimulus or situation. The model is typically of the same age and gender as the individual. After watching the model interact successfully with the feared stimulus or situation, the individual is more likely to perform the same behavior, and the fear and anxiety associated with the feared stimulus or situation are reduced.
Cognitive-behavioral strategies, such as self-instruction, self-control training, and rational-emotive therapy, have also been used to alleviate individuals' anxieties. Self-instruction involves the use of positive self-talk to handle anxiety-provoking situations. In self-control training, individuals learn to modify and restructure maladaptive thoughts, resulting in less anxiety in the presence of anxiety-provoking stimuli or situations. Less anxiety experienced then leads to positive changes in behavior because these individuals are more likely to approach the feared stimuli or situations. Replacement of false, irrational beliefs that underlie an anxiety problem with rational beliefs is the focus of rational-emotive therapy.
Prevention of Anxiety
Because anxiety is a common mental health concern facing many Americans today, efforts should be directed toward the prevention of anxiety disorders. The emotional, social, and economic costs associated with anxiety disorders are astronomical. Economic costs alone are estimated to be more than $40 billion per year. Yet, few prevention programs exist. Although prevention programs are costly up front, universal (primary), selective (secondary), and indicated (advanced) prevention programs are needed. Future efforts should be directed toward the development and implementation of these programs, as there will never be enough mental health professionals to provide adequate treatment of anxiety and other disorders.
Patricia A. Lowe and Jennifer M. Raad
EDITOR Neil J. Salkind
Copyright © 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Showing posts with label online degree programs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online degree programs. Show all posts
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Online Education And Degree. Part 14. Agression.
Aggression is a common problem among schoolchildren and results in negative psychological, educational, and social outcomes for both aggressors and victims. This entry considers this aggression from both sides, that is, the side of the aggressors and the side of their victims. More specifically, it defines the terms aggression and peer victimization and reviews prevalence estimates of each. It also reviews the consequences of aggression for both aggressors and victims, as well as the antecedents or risk factors for each. This entry then moves beyond these generalities to discuss some of the subtypes of aggression and victimization. Finally, it offers some conclusions that can be drawn from the existing research and describes likely future directions for studying aggression.
Definitions and Prevalence
Aggressive behavior can be defined as any act that is aimed at harming another individual. More specifically, the study of childhood aggression often involves aggressive behaviors among peers, that is, children of similar ages (excluding aggression toward or from adults). Using this definition, attention is placed both on aggressors, who frequently enact aggression toward their peers, and on victims, who are often the targets of aggression by peers. It is important to note that some children may be considered both aggressors and victims; these aggressive-victims often have outcomes and risk factors that are distinct from children who are only aggressors or only victims.
Prevalence estimates of aggressors, victims, and aggressive-victims vary widely across studies because of different measurement strategies (e.g., reliance on children's self-reports or nominations of peers, teacher reports, observations) and criteria for classifying children (e.g., many studies define a child as a victim if they are targeted about once a week or more, but others will consider entire school years or lifetime incidents). Despite this variability across studies, it appears that about 10% to 20% of children can be considered aggressors, 10% to 20% can be considered victims, and 5% to 10% can be considered aggressive-victims. These prevalence estimates are remarkably consistent across countries, so it appears that aggression is a problem among schoolchildren worldwide. It is also worth noting that although these prevalence estimates would suggest that most children (50%-75%) are not directly involved as aggressors and/or victims, most children play some role in aggressive incidents, often serving as assistants or reinforcers to aggressors or as defenders of victims.
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Consequences
The substantial prevalence of aggression and victimization is especially alarming when one considers the serious negative consequences of each. Aggressive children are often disliked by their normative (nonag-gressive) peers and affiliate with delinquent peers who may solidify and expand the child's antisocial tendencies. Aggressive children are also often disengaged from school, either by their own choice or through negative teacher reactions, suspensions, and expulsions. These negative consequences of childhood are often exacerbated over time, leading to further delinquency, substance use, and school dropout during adolescence and to criminal behavior, poor marital relations, and unemployment/underemployment during adulthood. Of course, these associations are not perfect, and most aggressive children will discon-tinue, or at least decrease, their use of aggression with time and lead normal, well-adapted lives (in fact, there is evidence that most early adolescents will engage in some antisocial behavior, generally with few long-term consequences). At the same time, these long-term associations suggest that childhood aggression places individuals at increased risk for negative trajectories, and such behavior should certainly not be dismissed as "kids being kids."
As might be expected, victims of peer aggres-sion suffer in numerous ways as a consequence of being abused. Victimization often leads to diminished self-esteem and increases in internalizing problems (depression, anxiety, social withdrawal). Victims also tend to have poorer academic adjustment, including lower grades, disliking of school, and truancy; these consequences are intuitive if we imagine, as adults, how we would perform at work if we expected that someone might assault us on our next break. Victimization also leads to poor social outcomes, in the forms of having fewer friends, having friendships of poorer quality, and being disliked by most peers. This is unfortunate because the psychological consequences of victimization are diminished for victims who have good social support (e.g., friendships). Although the empirical evidence is limited, that which is available indicates that these negative consequences are long-lasting and persist as increased rates of depression and problematic romantic relationships, for example.
Children who are both aggressors and victims tend to suffer even more serious adjustment difficulties than children who are only aggressors or only victims. The additive risks alone of being both aggressive and victimized suggest negative adjustment, and these aggressive-victims do indeed appear to suffer the short- and long-term consequences of both aggressors and victims. Moreover, there is some evidence that these aggressive-victims suffer even worse outcomes than would be predicted by the additive effects of aggression and victimization. It is unclear if the dual roles of aggressor and victim are especially detrimental, or if the same risk factors that predict children becoming aggressive-victims (e.g., neurological deficits, histories of parental abuse) also contribute to their long-term maladjustment. Nevertheless, these children represent a special cause for concern.
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Risk Factors
Given the prevalence and negative consequences of aggression and victimization, researchers have sought to identify factors that place children at risk for enacting and/or receiving aggression.
Predictors of aggressive behavior can be found in both home and peer contexts. Specifically, the home environments of children who enact aggression tend to be characterized by marital conflict and frequent aggression (e.g., domestic violence). Furthermore, aggression is predicted by parenting styles of inappropriate permissiveness or lack of monitoring of children's behavior, negative or rejecting behaviors toward children, and of physical punishment and/or inconsistent discipline of children's behavior. In the peer context, research has shown that experiences of peer rejection and victimization predict increases in aggression, as do group social norms encouraging aggressive behavior and affiliation with aggressive and/or delinquent peers. It is worth noting that some of these peer-group risk factors for aggression are also consequences of aggression; thus, initial home environment may contribute to children's aggressive behavior, which results in peer relations that further solidify and exacerbate aggressive tendencies.
Victims of peer aggression are more often physically weak, suffer internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety), and have lower self-concept than nonvicti-mized peers; each of these factors might make children less likely or less able to behave assertively or defend themselves, which may contribute to them being viewed as "easy targets" by potential aggressors. Similar to aggression, risk factors for peer victimization can also be found in both home and peer contexts. Parents who provide little support or responsiveness to their children's needs tend to have children who are more likely to be victimized by peers. Other parenting risk factors differ by gender; for instance, overprotectiveness and enmeshment predict victimization for boys (presumably leading to the failure to develop age-appropriate assertiveness), whereas coerciveness and threats of rejection are more predictive for girls (presumably leading to low self-concept). For both boys and girls, peer rejection, lack of friends, and engagement in antipathetic relationships (e.g., enemies) in the peer group place children at risk for victimization. Again, it should be noted that these peer-group risk factors are also con-sequences of victimization, suggesting the vicious cycle between peer victimization and poor peer relations in which children can become trapped.
Although aggressive-victims often have risk factors similar both to aggressors and to victims, there is also evidence of distinct risk factors. In the home context, rates of parental abuse and physical punishment are dramatically higher for aggressive-victims than for other children, and aggressive-victims tend to be rejected more and have fewer friends than either aggressors or victims. Although this entry has not focused on biological origins, it is worth noting that aggressive-victims have high rates of neurological deficits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well. It is believed that these home and peer-group experiences (and possibly the biological risk factors) lead to hostile attribution biases (i.e. tendencies to interpret ambiguous behavior by others as hostile in intent), which contribute to aggressive-victims' behavior and further maltreatment by peers.
EDITOR Neil J. Salkind
Copyright © 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Definitions and Prevalence
Aggressive behavior can be defined as any act that is aimed at harming another individual. More specifically, the study of childhood aggression often involves aggressive behaviors among peers, that is, children of similar ages (excluding aggression toward or from adults). Using this definition, attention is placed both on aggressors, who frequently enact aggression toward their peers, and on victims, who are often the targets of aggression by peers. It is important to note that some children may be considered both aggressors and victims; these aggressive-victims often have outcomes and risk factors that are distinct from children who are only aggressors or only victims.
Prevalence estimates of aggressors, victims, and aggressive-victims vary widely across studies because of different measurement strategies (e.g., reliance on children's self-reports or nominations of peers, teacher reports, observations) and criteria for classifying children (e.g., many studies define a child as a victim if they are targeted about once a week or more, but others will consider entire school years or lifetime incidents). Despite this variability across studies, it appears that about 10% to 20% of children can be considered aggressors, 10% to 20% can be considered victims, and 5% to 10% can be considered aggressive-victims. These prevalence estimates are remarkably consistent across countries, so it appears that aggression is a problem among schoolchildren worldwide. It is also worth noting that although these prevalence estimates would suggest that most children (50%-75%) are not directly involved as aggressors and/or victims, most children play some role in aggressive incidents, often serving as assistants or reinforcers to aggressors or as defenders of victims.
More info you may find in Google using search terms like university degree online, education specialist, brown vs board of education, us department of education, health education, education quotes, distance learning degree it, education clip art, business degree e, santa clara adult education, indiana department of education, mississippi department of education, teacher education, importance of education, education administration, brown v board of education, music education, degree online, nyc department of education, education loan, online teaching degree, bachelors degree, psychology degree, second degree burns, computer education, online college degree programs, georgia department of education, california department of education, chronicle of higher education, distance learning degree, florida department of education, education coordinator, education lottery, kentucky department of education, online accounting degree.
Consequences
The substantial prevalence of aggression and victimization is especially alarming when one considers the serious negative consequences of each. Aggressive children are often disliked by their normative (nonag-gressive) peers and affiliate with delinquent peers who may solidify and expand the child's antisocial tendencies. Aggressive children are also often disengaged from school, either by their own choice or through negative teacher reactions, suspensions, and expulsions. These negative consequences of childhood are often exacerbated over time, leading to further delinquency, substance use, and school dropout during adolescence and to criminal behavior, poor marital relations, and unemployment/underemployment during adulthood. Of course, these associations are not perfect, and most aggressive children will discon-tinue, or at least decrease, their use of aggression with time and lead normal, well-adapted lives (in fact, there is evidence that most early adolescents will engage in some antisocial behavior, generally with few long-term consequences). At the same time, these long-term associations suggest that childhood aggression places individuals at increased risk for negative trajectories, and such behavior should certainly not be dismissed as "kids being kids."
As might be expected, victims of peer aggres-sion suffer in numerous ways as a consequence of being abused. Victimization often leads to diminished self-esteem and increases in internalizing problems (depression, anxiety, social withdrawal). Victims also tend to have poorer academic adjustment, including lower grades, disliking of school, and truancy; these consequences are intuitive if we imagine, as adults, how we would perform at work if we expected that someone might assault us on our next break. Victimization also leads to poor social outcomes, in the forms of having fewer friends, having friendships of poorer quality, and being disliked by most peers. This is unfortunate because the psychological consequences of victimization are diminished for victims who have good social support (e.g., friendships). Although the empirical evidence is limited, that which is available indicates that these negative consequences are long-lasting and persist as increased rates of depression and problematic romantic relationships, for example.
Children who are both aggressors and victims tend to suffer even more serious adjustment difficulties than children who are only aggressors or only victims. The additive risks alone of being both aggressive and victimized suggest negative adjustment, and these aggressive-victims do indeed appear to suffer the short- and long-term consequences of both aggressors and victims. Moreover, there is some evidence that these aggressive-victims suffer even worse outcomes than would be predicted by the additive effects of aggression and victimization. It is unclear if the dual roles of aggressor and victim are especially detrimental, or if the same risk factors that predict children becoming aggressive-victims (e.g., neurological deficits, histories of parental abuse) also contribute to their long-term maladjustment. Nevertheless, these children represent a special cause for concern.
Keep looking for more in search engines like Bing. Just use tags how do i know which business degree class to take, online education college degree, virginia department of education, higher education, education manager, college of education, writing education on resume, driver education, college degree, box tops for education, department of education, education degree, life experience degree, drivers education, colorado department of education, head of education agency.
Risk Factors
Given the prevalence and negative consequences of aggression and victimization, researchers have sought to identify factors that place children at risk for enacting and/or receiving aggression.
Predictors of aggressive behavior can be found in both home and peer contexts. Specifically, the home environments of children who enact aggression tend to be characterized by marital conflict and frequent aggression (e.g., domestic violence). Furthermore, aggression is predicted by parenting styles of inappropriate permissiveness or lack of monitoring of children's behavior, negative or rejecting behaviors toward children, and of physical punishment and/or inconsistent discipline of children's behavior. In the peer context, research has shown that experiences of peer rejection and victimization predict increases in aggression, as do group social norms encouraging aggressive behavior and affiliation with aggressive and/or delinquent peers. It is worth noting that some of these peer-group risk factors for aggression are also consequences of aggression; thus, initial home environment may contribute to children's aggressive behavior, which results in peer relations that further solidify and exacerbate aggressive tendencies.
Victims of peer aggression are more often physically weak, suffer internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety), and have lower self-concept than nonvicti-mized peers; each of these factors might make children less likely or less able to behave assertively or defend themselves, which may contribute to them being viewed as "easy targets" by potential aggressors. Similar to aggression, risk factors for peer victimization can also be found in both home and peer contexts. Parents who provide little support or responsiveness to their children's needs tend to have children who are more likely to be victimized by peers. Other parenting risk factors differ by gender; for instance, overprotectiveness and enmeshment predict victimization for boys (presumably leading to the failure to develop age-appropriate assertiveness), whereas coerciveness and threats of rejection are more predictive for girls (presumably leading to low self-concept). For both boys and girls, peer rejection, lack of friends, and engagement in antipathetic relationships (e.g., enemies) in the peer group place children at risk for victimization. Again, it should be noted that these peer-group risk factors are also con-sequences of victimization, suggesting the vicious cycle between peer victimization and poor peer relations in which children can become trapped.
Although aggressive-victims often have risk factors similar both to aggressors and to victims, there is also evidence of distinct risk factors. In the home context, rates of parental abuse and physical punishment are dramatically higher for aggressive-victims than for other children, and aggressive-victims tend to be rejected more and have fewer friends than either aggressors or victims. Although this entry has not focused on biological origins, it is worth noting that aggressive-victims have high rates of neurological deficits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well. It is believed that these home and peer-group experiences (and possibly the biological risk factors) lead to hostile attribution biases (i.e. tendencies to interpret ambiguous behavior by others as hostile in intent), which contribute to aggressive-victims' behavior and further maltreatment by peers.
EDITOR Neil J. Salkind
Copyright © 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
Find more articles in Yahoo! using keywords like online degree in education, first degree burns, master degree, online degree programs, nurses education, discovery education, continuing education, associate degree, business communication degree, acs education, head of education cabinet agency, english degree, masters degree, online education, distance education, physical education, adult education, criminal justice degree, chronicle of higher education, jobs, nursing degree, online law degree, education grants, online psychology degree, online bachelor degree, secondary education, elementary education, the north american education institute, foreign exchange education, education for er doctor, associates degree, texas education agency, sex education, philosophy of education, louisiana department of education, careers with no degree required, accredited online degree program, special education, online degree, education online.
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