No distinctions between different types of anxiety symptoms in pre-adolescents from the general population

Studies aimed at anxiety symptoms in children from the general population samples often make distinctions between symptoms of Separation Anxiety, Social Phobia, Panic Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Given the high comorbidity rates between these disorders, the usefulness of such distinctions is questionable. The present study was conducted to investigate which homogenous subgroups of children aged 10–12 years can be identified, according to the presence and frequencies of different types of anxiety. A general population sample of 2210 children was assessed with the RCADS, a self-report questionnaire. Latent class analysis did not yield classes of children with symptoms of one anxiety disorder, without symptoms of another anxiety disorder. Instead, five classes of children were identified that differed in the frequency of anxiety symptoms, irrespective of the type of anxiety. Results indicate that, in a general population sample, it may not be useful to discern children with different types of anxiety symptoms.