Anxiety and depression in adolescents

Anxiety and depression among young people had already increased in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic and then experienced a significant increase again during the pandemic. In this article the different clinical forms of expression of these emotional syndromes are presented in detail and the developmental paths of a combination of both disorders are also explained. Even subclinical forms of anxiety and depression already have clear clinical implications and impair the developmental tasks of adolescence. The "avolitional depression" (depression with severe drive disorders) is mentioned as a special form. Pathogenetic building blocks-from genetic vulnerability to psychosocial stressors-come up for discussion in light of the fact that anxiety and depression are about twice as common in adolescent females as in males. The embedding of the disorders in current events shows the special importance of the self-reflective emotion of shame in the adolescent development process. The scarcity and dysfunctionality of emotional dialogue between significant caregivers and children must be cautioned against. Its role in adolescents' self-regulation and affect regulation should not be underestimated. Finally, an overview of the most important therapeutic measures for anxiety and depression in adolescence is presented.