Anxiety manifests itself as a prolonged worry, the origin of which is difficult to identify. The condition is expressed in a combination of emotional, behavioural, physical, and cognitive symptoms. Anxiety disorders are marked by intense fear and anxiety that occur in many situations and persist even after the stressful event has ended, or by the feeling of distinct discomfort at the mere thought of a stimulus that is perceived as threatening. Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents. A combination of many internal and external risk factors contributes to their onset. Learning deficits (hereafter referred to as LD) represent severe specific learning disabilities that are intrinsic and are demonstrated by the discrepancy between a child’s general intellectual abilities and achievement in the areas of reading, writing, spelling, and/or arithmetic skills. Experts perceive learning deficits as risk factors for developing anxiety disorders, however there is no clear answer about the nature of the cause-and-effect relationships between them. The main aim of this master’s thesis was to examine anxiety and different types of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents with LD, who are enrolled in a primary school programme with adapted delivery and additional professional support. In the empirical part, we investigated, how factors such as gender, age, co-occurrence of illnesses, disorders, barriers or deficits, stressful events, family factors, academic achievement, social functioning, and school environment influence anxiety in primary school children with LD. We used descriptive and causal non-experimental research methods and a quantitative research approach. A questionnaire with included anxiety scale was completed by 109 parents of primary school children with LD. Research results have shown that according to parents' reports, 42,2 percent of the primary school children in the sample experience elevated levels of anxiety and that social phobia is the most prominent type of anxiety. In terms of gender and age, we confirmed statistically significant higher levels of anxiety and social phobia in girls and separation anxiety in primary school children in the age group up to 13 years. It was also found that higher levels of anxiety are present in those who have experienced more stressful events and that the frequency of experiencing anxiety symptoms before and during the coronavirus pandemic and while watching the war in Ukraine was significantly correlated. The results confirmed that primary school children with LD, who have fewer friends in class or are more often bullied, teased, or rejected, are at higher risk for anxiety. It was also found that primary school children with LD who have a low academic achievement or who experience a less supportive school environment, express significantly higher levels of some types of anxiety. Findings of the master’s thesis deepen the understanding of anxiety and its risk factors in the context of learning deficits and contribute to raising awareness of the interaction between cognitive-emotional processes and environmental influences.
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