Primary Versus Secondary Diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Youth: Is the Distinction an Important One?

Ollendick, TH; Jarrett, MA; White, BA; White, SW; Grills, AE

Primary Versus Secondary Diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Youth: Is the Distinction an Important One?

Ollendick, TH Jarrett, MA White, BA White, SW Grills, AE

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Publisher:: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev, 2016, 47, (4), pp. 548-553
Issue Date:: 2016-08

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ollendick, TH
dc.contributor.author	Jarrett, MA
dc.contributor.author	White, BA
dc.contributor.author	White, SW
dc.contributor.author	Grills, AE
dc.date.accessioned	2022-08-20T04:39:31Z
dc.date.available	2022-08-20T04:39:31Z
dc.date.issued	2016-08
dc.identifier.citation	Child Psychiatry Hum Dev, 2016, 47, (4), pp. 548-553
dc.identifier.issn	0009-398X
dc.identifier.issn	1573-3327
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/160535
dc.description.abstract	Examine whether children with a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) differ from children with a secondary diagnosis of GAD on clinician, parent, teacher, and youth-report measures. Based on consensus diagnoses, 64 youth referred to a general outpatient assessment clinic were categorized as having either a primary or secondary diagnosis of GAD. A semi-structured diagnostic interview was used to guide diagnostic decisions and assign primary versus secondary diagnostic status. We predicted that youth with a primary GAD diagnosis would present with greater anxiety symptomatology and symptom impairment on a variety of anxiety-related measures than youth with a secondary GAD diagnosis. Contrary to our hypotheses, no differences were found between those with primary versus secondary GAD diagnoses on measures of symptom severity and clinical impairment, comorbid diagnoses, or youth and teacher-report measures. Our findings have potential implications for the current practice of requiring primary anxiety diagnostic status as an inclusion criterion in clinical research and treatment outcome studies. Assuming our findings are confirmed in larger samples and with other anxiety disorders, future clinical trials and basic psychopathology research might not exclude youth based on absence of a particular anxiety disorder as the primary disorder but rather include individuals for whom that anxiety disorder is secondary as well.
dc.format	Print
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.relation	National Institute of Mental HealthR34MH096915
dc.relation.ispartof	Child Psychiatry Hum Dev
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s10578-015-0588-1
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	1103 Clinical Sciences, 1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine, 1701 Psychology
dc.subject.classification	Developmental & Child Psychology
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent
dc.subject.mesh	Anxiety
dc.subject.mesh	Anxiety Disorders
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Anxiety
dc.subject.mesh	Anxiety Disorders
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.title	Primary Versus Secondary Diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Youth: Is the Distinction an Important One?
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	47
utslib.location.activity	United States
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences
utslib.for	1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
utslib.for	1701 Psychology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-08-20T04:39:29Z
pubs.issue	4
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	47
utslib.citation.issue	4

Abstract:

Examine whether children with a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) differ from children with a secondary diagnosis of GAD on clinician, parent, teacher, and youth-report measures. Based on consensus diagnoses, 64 youth referred to a general outpatient assessment clinic were categorized as having either a primary or secondary diagnosis of GAD. A semi-structured diagnostic interview was used to guide diagnostic decisions and assign primary versus secondary diagnostic status. We predicted that youth with a primary GAD diagnosis would present with greater anxiety symptomatology and symptom impairment on a variety of anxiety-related measures than youth with a secondary GAD diagnosis. Contrary to our hypotheses, no differences were found between those with primary versus secondary GAD diagnoses on measures of symptom severity and clinical impairment, comorbid diagnoses, or youth and teacher-report measures. Our findings have potential implications for the current practice of requiring primary anxiety diagnostic status as an inclusion criterion in clinical research and treatment outcome studies. Assuming our findings are confirmed in larger samples and with other anxiety disorders, future clinical trials and basic psychopathology research might not exclude youth based on absence of a particular anxiety disorder as the primary disorder but rather include individuals for whom that anxiety disorder is secondary as well.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/160535