Vulnerability and risk for anxiety disorders

An increasing number of studies in the anxiety disorders is concerned with the issue of etiology. Based on extant family and twin studies, it appears that the anxiety disorders are familial, but that the nature of this familial factor is uncertain. Emerging human and nonhuman primate data suggest that some individuals are likely to be more vulnerable to anxiety than others, and hence are at a greater risk for developing an anxiety disorder. This literature was reviewed briefly and a pilot investigation of the psychophysiological characteristics of anxious and normal children was described. The results were discussed in terms of the usefulness of psychophysiological strategies and challenge tasks in the assessment of anxious emotion, and as a model for exploring vulnerability to anxiety.