Susan Warren, MD 2029940033 psyslwgwumc'edu

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Susan Warren, MD202-994-0033psyslw_at_gwumc.edu
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Early Risk Factors for Anxiety Disorders

• Neurophysiological risk factors including
  startle, EEG and sleep
• Family relationship factors including the
  attachment relationship

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Infants of Anxious Mothers

• In previous research studied 4 month and 14 month
  infants of mothers with panic disorder and normal
  controls
• Found that infants of mothers with panic disorder
  had elevated baseline salivary cortisol and more
  disturbed sleep
• Mothers with panic disorder showed less
  sensitivity towards their infants

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Infants of Anxious Mothers

• Recruited more than 200 mothers with anxiety
  disorders and normal controls
• Infants participate at 4 months, 14 months and 2
  years of age
• Examining child neurophysiology, temperament, and
  parenting behaviors that predict later child
  diagnoses

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Anxious Toddlers

• In previous research studied diagnostic criteria
  for anxiety disorders in toddlers
• Toddlers were mostly 2-years-old
• Modifications to adult social phobia criteria
  showed good convergent and discriminant validity
  but modifications to adult generalized anxiety
  disorder did not

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Anxious Toddlers

• Recruited more than 300 toddlers from the general
  population, some with anxiety disorders
• Toddlers participate at 2 , 3 and 5 years of age
• Examining child neurophysiology, temperament, and
  parenting behaviors that predict later child
  diagnoses

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Improving Psychiatric Diagnostic Criteria

• Developing new statistical procedures to test
  psychiatric diagnostic criteria
• Will use these new procedures to better define
  psychiatric diagnoses for young children and
  adults