Avoidant Disorder

Abstract

while Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R) describes avoidant disorder as a distinct disorder, the empirical data currently available raise questions as to the validity of this nosological entity / children diagnosed with avoidant disorder exhibit significant social anxiety when in situations with unfamiliar people / review the current knowledge of avoidant disorder in children and adolescents and offer directions for future empirical research to clarify the nature of this anxiety disorder description of the disorder / clinical presentation / epidemiology / stability / developmental considerations / differential diagnosis / diagnostic reliability / comorbidity with other anxiety disorders / comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders / comorbidity with speech and language disorders / case example [of a 7-yr-old 2nd grader with avoidant disorder] (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)