Dados do Trabalho

Título

APPLICATION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR SCREENING ANXIETY DISORDER IN ADOLESCENTS

Introdução

Anxiety disorder involves physiological, cognitive, and behavioral components. When the anxious response becomes distorted and/or dysfunctional, the adolescents experience losses in several environments (school, family, and social). The causes of the anxiety disorders are multifactorial; therefore, high prevalence and difficult prognosis justify the necessity of studies and investments in programs that reduce the incidence of anxiety disorders in adolescents.

Objetivo

To administer a Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screening questionnaire in adolescents assisted at an outpatient clinic of medicine of adolescents and another sectors of a university hospital.

Métodos

To application the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) questionnaire, which is a self-report scale used to assess anxiety in children and adolescents in the affective, physical, cognitive, and behavioral domains. The cutoff point adopted for this research was 56 points, situation in which assessment by a mental health professional would be indicated. The questionnaire was administered to adolescents whose age ranged from 11 to 16 years, treated at an outpatient clinic for adolescents and in other sectors of a university hospital.

Resultados

60 questionnaires were administered to the adolescents, three of which (5%) were invalidated due to being incompletely filled. The age ranged from 11 to 16 years, and the average age was 13 years. Among the 57 (97%) adolescents who completed the questionnaire properly, 31 (54.3%) were male and 26 (45.6%) were female. 21 (36.8%) scored for generalized anxiety disorder, six of which (28.5%) were male and 15 (71.4%) were female.

Conclusões

Anxiety disorder is a common situation in teenagers, usually in girls. In this study, there was a prevalence of anxiety in girls, which corroborates findings in literature.

Palavras chave

anxiety; scale; adolescent; mental disorder; screening

Fonte de Fomento (se houver)

Nenhuma

Declaração de conflito de interesses de TODOS os autores

Nenhum