Screening for Anxiety Disorders and Associated Social Risk Factors in Children in Saudi Arabia

Dr. Sukainah Khamees; Dr. Fatima Al-Sayegh; Dr. Nada Al Bunaian

Volume : VIII, Issue : VI, June - 2019

Screening for Anxiety Disorders and Associated Social Risk Factors in Children in Saudi Arabia

Dr. Sukainah Khamees, Dr. Fatima Al Sayegh, Dr. Nada Al Bunaian

Abstract :

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anxiety disorders in children aged 8–12 years, to identify associated social factors and measure their relationship with anxiety disorder severity. An analytical cross–sectional study was conducted using the parent–validated version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders questionnaire, which was administered to parents of 405 children from the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The results indicated that a quarter of children aged from 8–12 years were at risk of developing anxiety disorders. The most common type of disorder was separation anxiety disorder (49.1%), followed by social anxiety disorder (17.5%), panic disorder (17.3%), school avoidance (14.6%), and generalized anxiety disorder (12.8%). Medium and high family income was significantly associated with panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and school avoidance. Children of healthy parents who did not use antidepressants were healthier and less likely to develop generalized anxiety or panic disorder relative to other children. The highest proportion of patients who are at risk of social anxiety disorder is in Dammam. Social anxiety disorder was associated with the level of education of parents who were graduated from university and secondary school. Future studies should gather information from both parents and children and involve clinical interviews with children