Worry is common in children and adolescents, yet some youth experience excessive worries that persist over time and cause significant distress. Whilst the literature on worry and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) in adults is well established, relatively less is known about the cognitive mechanisms underlying child and adolescent worry. An influential cognitive model of adult pathological worry (Hirsch and Matthews in Behav Res Therapy 50:636–646, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.007, 2012) proposes that negative information-processing biases, reduced executive functions, and verbal worry are critical in the aetiology of GAD in adults. The current systematic review investigated whether this cognitive model of worry could be extended to understand child and adolescent worry. Following a systematic search of the literature and screening for eligibility, 30 studies were identified. Evidence indicates that negative information-processing biases and reduced executive functions play an important role in worry and GAD in children and adolescents. However, evidence that children and adolescents experience verbal worry is inconclusive. Building upon Hirsch and Matthews' cognitive model (Behav Res Therapy 50:636–646, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.007, 2012), we propose a model of child and adolescent worry to provide a guiding framework for future research. We conclude that cognitive models of worry should incorporate a developmental framework in order to provide greater insight into the mechanisms uniquely associated with worry in children and adolescents and help to identify the cognitive processes to target for early interventions and treatments.

中文翻译：

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儿童和青少年病理性焦虑的认知模型：系统评价。

忧虑在儿童和青少年中很常见，但一些年轻人会感到过度担忧，这种担忧会随着时间的流逝而持续存在，并导致严重的困扰。尽管关于成年人的忧虑和广泛性焦虑症（GAD）的文献已经很成熟，但对儿童和青少年忧虑的认知机制的了解相对较少。有影响力的成人病理忧虑认知模型（Hirsch and Matthews in Behav Res Therapy 50：636–646，https：//doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.007，2012）提出，负面的信息处理偏见，执行功能的降低和口头忧虑对成人GAD的病因至关重要。目前的系统评价调查了这种忧虑的认知模型是否可以扩展为理解儿童和青少年的忧虑。在对文献进行系统搜索和筛选资格后，确定了30项研究。有证据表明，负面的信息处理偏见和降低的执行功能在儿童和青少年的忧虑和GAD中起着重要作用。但是，没有证据表明儿童和青少年经历口头担心。基于Hirsch和Matthews的认知模型（Behav Res Therapy 50：636–646，https：//doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.007，2012），我们提出了一个儿童和青少年忧虑模型，以提供未来研究的指导框架。