Panic disorder in children and adolescents

Although it has been long thought that it could not be possible for a child to experience panic, the existence of Panic Disorder in children and adolescents is nowadays unquestionable. This disorder presents a chronic course, high interference and high comorbidity with other psychiatric and medical conditions. Due to these factors, there has been an increasing interest among clinicians and researchers in order to develop more effective assessment and treatment strategies for children and adolescents with this disorder. The present paper aims to contribute to a better understanding and sharing of the most recent information on Panic Disorder in children and adolescents by reviewing aspects such as classification, differential diagnosis, epidemiological data, assessment and treatment strategies. Furthermore, we also discuss what we consider to be current challenges that may point to future developments, both in clinical and research settings.