A Reflection of Assessment of Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Child, Adolescent, and Adult Populations

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was initially introduced in the revised third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) as a diagnosis to help characterize chronic and excessive worry. Today, GAD is one of the most common anxiety disorders in the general population and practice. Although GAD is an increasingly popular area of research, it remains in a premature state. This is evident by a lack of empirically supported assessment measures, intervention strategies, and treatment options. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review current empirically based assessment and treatment interventions for GAD commonly used in child, adolescent, and adult populations.