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CC BY 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2023; 81(S 01): S1-S96
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1774480
SCIENTIFIC WORK
Transtornos neuropsiquiátricos e distúrbios de aprendizagem
Code: PE233

Application of a questionnaire for screening anxiety disorder in adolescents

Estela Cristina Giglio de Sousa
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
João Victor Pereira de Sousa
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
André Curioletti Pereira
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
Amanda Fontana Gouveia
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
Ana Claudia de Araujo Argentino
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
Rafaela Sorpile Araujo
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
Carmem Denise Royer
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
Gleice Fernanda Costa Pinto Gabriel
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
,
Marcos Antonio da Silva Cristovam
1   Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel PR, Brazil
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    Background: 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.

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

    Methods: 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.

    Results: 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.

    Conclusions: 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.


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    No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

    Publication History

    Article published online:
    18 September 2023

    © 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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