ABSTRACT
Anxiety disorders influence the development, course, treatment, and outcomes of substance use disorders (SUDs) in adolescents. Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders in adolescents and are prevalent among adolescents with SUDs (Clark, Smith, Neighbors, Skerlec, & Randall, 1994). Adolescence is a pivotal developmental period for understanding the relationship between anxiety disorders and SUDs. When anxiety disorders and SUDs co-occur, the problems typically begin in adolescence (Clark & Sayette, 1993). The diverse range of problems represented by anxiety disorders complicates their relationships with substance use and SUDs. For some anxiety disorders, an association with adolescent SUDs has been demonstrated, and plausible models with some empirical support may be presented as a framework for understanding their comorbidity. For other anxiety disorders, there is little or no evidence indicating a clinically meaningful relationship between the specific anxiety disorder and adolescent SUDs. With this variability in mind, this chapter will review
Authors’ note: Research for this chapter was provided by support grants from NIAA: K02AA00291, K24AA015320, R01AA013370 and NIDA: K01DA018698, R01DA14635, P50DA05605.
