Epidemiologic surveys consistently document that anxiety disorders are the most prevalent class of mental disorders. This chapter reviews the prevalence and distribution of DSM-IV anxiety disorders across the life span, drawing predominantly on large-scale epidemiologic surveys conducted in developed regions of the world, where the most rigorous work has been conducted. Sex differences in the prevalence of anxiety disorders are consistent across cultures and survey methods. Across cultures, epidemiologic work typically finds women to be at greater risk for social anxiety disorder (SAD) than men. Across several DSM iterations, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has evolved from a non-specific residual anxiety category to its current status as a primary anxiety disorder. Across cultures, lifetime panic disorder (PD) rates range roughly from 2% to 4%, and 1-3% reports the presence of PD within the past year. Increased efforts are needed to document population- based prevalence estimates of childhood anxiety disorders.

This chapter reviews three major sources of data that are used to derive the epidemiology of completed suicide in children and adolescents. They are official mortality statistics, the psychological autopsy literature, and general population epidemiologic surveys of nonlethal suicidal behavior. Suicide is often associated with aggressive behavior and alcohol abuse and both are more common in males. Until 1979, the ethnic breakdown in the annual age-specific mortality statistics in the U.S. published by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) was limited to whites and nonwhites. Firearms are the most common method and hanging the second most prevalent method of suicide in the U.S., regardless of age or ethnicity. The chapter focuses on the main risk factors for youth suicide evaluated by the psychological autopsy studies that employed direct interviews of family and/or peer informants.