Triggers
T here is not one specific cause of anxiety in children, Freeman says. For each child, there is a different trigger or triggers and subsequent behavior or series of behaviors, so it looks and sounds different depending on the child and the stressors. This complexity, and why it’ s so prevalent now, she adds, feels like navigating a labyrinth.
“ Stress covers a lot, because that could be a social stressor between kids, family stressors, societal stressors like the pandemic, violence and scary things happening in schools and communities. Illness, like a family illness and being sick yourself, can be a trigger,” Freeman says.“ There’ s no right way to be a kid, but if they don’ t get to practice things, like talking to other kids, that builds upon the next layer of anxiety. So I really do think there is a cascade effect that if anxiety is getting in the way of developmental milestones, it really disrupts typical kid functioning.”
Personal trauma and fear of missing out, family genetics and easy access to the internet are all common origins. A trauma, like abuse or the loss of a loved one, often impacts kids’ functioning and feelings of security, which may make them skittish or angry because they assume another parent will leave them behind or they’ ll be judged.
Social pressures remain a chief instigator of anxiety among
children, experts agree. They are afraid they’ ll be ridiculed, judged, ignored, bullied or any combination of consequences that children must navigate.
“ Academic pressures, puberty, exposure to peers’ highlight reels on social media— all can play a role in creating anxiety,” says psychologist and author Chelsea Tucker, of the New England Center for Anxiety in Westerly.“ Kids start comparing themselves by thinking things like,‘ Oh, they’ re hanging out without me,’ or‘ They have more followers than me.’ In middle school, they’ re suddenly dealing with tryouts and auditions for activities they love. Those new barriers can really provoke anxiety. In high school, the next set of triggers includes identity formation, navigating romantic relationships and future plans. There’ s something new to navigate at every stage.”
Genetics also impacts anxiety from generation to generation, so if parents have an anxiety disorder, children are predisposed to it, too, though it will manifest differently. It also looks different between anxious siblings— one may be outgoing and need strict processes to focus their frenetic nerves, while another may be shy and go with the flow in order to disappear.
“ There are some kids whose anxiety is produced because of an unfamiliar situation,” Shyllon says,“ and that’ s very different than a child who is experiencing anxiety because of fear of missing out.”
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Screen Time
EXPERTS AGREE THAT SCREENS are one of many culprits.“ People are trying to pigeonhole technology, phone use or screen time. But it’ s not that those things are causing anxiety. It’ s how people are using them,” Glode says.
For example, if an anxious adolescent cuts themself, they may think,‘ What if I have an infection?’ So they’ ll search in Google, pore over Reddit threads and TikTok videos, and spend hours each day researching their symptoms. Their search algorithm learns what they’ re worried about, feeds them misinformation and shares advice that they shouldn’ t follow, Glode says.“ That makes them worry more and research more; maybe they start engaging in more compulsions or avoiding more situations because they start to believe that what they’ re worried about will be true,” he says.
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