Child or Teen Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder. Children and teens with GAD worry excessively and uncontrollably about daily life events.

Key Points: * Although younger children can show signs of excessive worry, children usually develop GAD at about 12 years old. * Girls are more likely to have GAD than boys. In fact, 2 out of every 3 children with GAD are girls. * Almost half of children with an anxiety disorder will continue to suffer from an anxiety problem when they are adults. * Many children with GAD also have other anxiety problems. The most common problems are social anxiety, depression, separation anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).