Early Risk Factors for Anxiety Disorders in Infants and Toddlers

1. Susan Warren, MD202-994-0033psyslw@gwumc.edu

2. Early Risk Factors for Anxiety Disorders • Neurophysiological risk factors including startle, EEG and sleep • Family relationship factors including the attachment relationship

3. Infants of Anxious Mothers • In previous research studied 4 month and 14 month infants of mothers with panic disorder and normal controls • Found that infants of mothers with panic disorder had elevated baseline salivary cortisol and more disturbed sleep • Mothers with panic disorder showed less sensitivity towards their infants

4. Infants of Anxious Mothers • Recruited more than 200 mothers with anxiety disorders and normal controls • Infants participate at 4 months, 14 months and 2 years of age • Examining child neurophysiology, temperament, and parenting behaviors that predict later child diagnoses

5. Anxious Toddlers • In previous research studied diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders in toddlers • Toddlers were mostly 2-years-old • Modifications to adult social phobia criteria showed good convergent and discriminant validity but modifications to adult generalized anxiety disorder did not

6. Anxious Toddlers • Recruited more than 300 toddlers from the general population, some with anxiety disorders • Toddlers participate at 2 , 3 and 5 years of age • Examining child neurophysiology, temperament, and parenting behaviors that predict later child diagnoses

7. Improving Psychiatric Diagnostic Criteria • Developing new statistical procedures to test psychiatric diagnostic criteria • Will use these new procedures to better define psychiatric diagnoses for young children and adults