Abstract
The purposes of the present article are to review anxiety disorders in children and to examine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for children with anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders in children have been classified as follows: (1) generalized anxiety disorder/ overanxious disorder, (2) social phobia, (3) separation anxiety disorder, (4) panic disorder, (5) specific phobia, and (6) obsessive compulsive disorder. The prevalence of anxiety disorders in children appears to be less than 10%; the comorbidity rate is high for various symptoms of anxiety. Children who have anxiety symptoms are also likely to be maladjusted in school or other social situations; many adults with anxiety disorders had had anxiety symptoms since they were children. This points to a need for early treatment for children with anxiety disorders. Major results from studies of cognitive behavior therapy treatment for children with anxiety disorders were that the effectiveness of individual treatment, group treatment, early intervention, and treatment with parents has been demonstrated in randomized controlled studies. In Japan, research on treatment for children with anxiety disorders is needed in order to establish effective treatments for Japanese children with anxiety disorders.
