Characteristics of anxiety in preschool children and methods of its diagnosis. Features of the behavior of anxious children

07.08.2019

Anxiety is an individual psychological feature that manifests I am in a person's tendency to frequent and intense experiences of the state of anxiety, as well as in a low threshold for its occurrence. It is considered as a personal education or as a property of temperament due to the weakness of nervous processes.

Anxiety, having a natural basis, develops in vivo, as a result of the action of social and personal factors. Anxiety can be generated by internal conflicts, mainly of a self-evaluating nature. There is a stable anxiety, in any area, private (school, interpersonal and others) and general. Adequate anxiety is also distinguished, which is a reflection of a person's unwell in a particular area, although a specific situation may not contain a threat.

Anxiety is an indicator of dysfunctional personal development and, in turn, has a negative impact on it. The same influence has the insensitivity to real trouble, "security" arising under the influence of protective mechanisms and manifested in the absence of anxiety even in potentially threatening situations. Anxiety can be a harbinger of neurosis, as well as its symptom and mechanism of development. Was first described by Freud.

Thus, the distinction between the concepts of "anxiety" and "anxiety" is as follows: anxiety, which is a component of the concept of anxiety, associated with relatively stable personality formations.

Emotions and feelings are a reflection of reality in the human sphere.

There are such types of feelings as moral, intellectual and aesthetic. According to the classification proposed by K. Izard, fundamental and derivative emotions are distinguished. Fundamental include: 1) interest-excitement, 2) joy, 3) surprise, 4) grief-suffering, 5) anger, 6) disgust, 7) contempt, 8) fear, 9) shame, 10) guilt

The rest of the emotions are their derivatives. From the combination of fundamental emotions arises such a complex emotional state as anxiety, which can combine fear, anger, guilt, and interest-excitement.

"Anxiety is an individual's tendency to experience anxiety, characterized by a low threshold for the onset of anxiety reactions: one of the main parameters of individual differences."

Anxiety in psychology is understood as a person's tendency to experience anxiety, i.e. an emotional state that arises in situations of uncertain danger and manifests itself in anticipation of an unfavorable development of events.

A certain level of anxiety is a natural and obligatory feature of an individual's vigorous activity. Each person has their own optimal or desired level of anxiety - this is the so-called useful anxiety. A person's assessment of his condition in this regard is for him an essential component of self-control and self-education. However, an increased level of anxiety is a subjective manifestation of an individual's dysfunction. When this level exceeds the optimal level, we can talk about the appearance of increased anxiety. There are two main types of anxiety. The first of them is the so-called situational anxiety, that is, generated by a certain person in anticipation of possible troubles and life complications. This condition is not only completely normal, but also plays a positive role. It acts as a kind of mobilizing mechanism that allows a person to seriously and responsibly approach the solution of emerging problems. Rather abnormal is a decrease in situational anxiety, when a person, in the face of serious circumstances, demonstrates carelessness and irresponsibility, which most often indicates an infantile life position, insufficient formulation of self-awareness.

Another type is the so-called personality anxiety. It can be considered as a personality trait that manifests itself in a constant tendency to experience anxiety in a variety of life situations, including those that objectively do not dispose of it. It is characterized by a state of unaccountable fear, an indefinite sense of threat, a readiness to perceive any event as unfavorable and dangerous. A child susceptible to this condition is constantly in a wary and depressed mood, it is difficult for him to contact the outside world, which he perceives as frightening and hostile. Being consolidated in the process of character formation, anxiety creates the basis for the formation of low self-esteem and gloomy pessimism.

Children's anxiety is not associated with any particular situation and is almost always manifested, accompanying the child in any kind of activity, be it educational or creative. When children are afraid of something specific, this is fear. For example, fear of darkness, height, confined space. loneliness, fear of pain (and associated fear of health care workers). At 3-5 years old, children are characterized by fears of loneliness, darkness and confined space. In preschool and primary school age, fear experiences prevail, when a specific, emotionally rich image, often of a fantastic or exaggerated nature, appears to be threatening. Every child has certain fears. However, if there are too many of them, this indicates manifestations of anxiety in the character of the child.

Portrait of an anxious child

In most cases, a school psychologist does not need to carry out special diagnostics to identify students with an increased level of anxiety; for this, a simple method of supervision (observation) during lessons or during recess is sufficient.

Having experience working with children, it is not difficult for a specialist to compose a portrait of an anxious child: he enters the classroom, peers intently into everything that surrounds him, shyly, almost silently, greets and awkwardly sits on the edge of the nearest chair. He seems to expect trouble. There are many anxious children at school, and working with them is not easier, and even more difficult than with other categories of "problem" children, because both hyperactive and aggressive children are always in sight, in full view, and anxious ones are withdrawn and silent, they try keep your problems to yourself. To find the "key" to the trust of such a child, the school psychologist must have not only the ability to empathy, but also high professional competence.

Anxious children are distinguished by excessive anxiety, sometimes they are afraid not of the event itself, but of its premonitions. The worst is often expected. Feel helpless, fearful of playing new games, embarking on unfamiliar species

children are very self-critical, they think that they really are worse than others in everything, the most ugly, stupid, awkward. They are looking for encouragement, approval of adults in all matters.

Anxious children are also characterized by somatic problems: abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, cramps in the throat, shortness of breath, etc. During the manifestation of anxiety, they often feel dry mouth, lump in the throat, weakness in the legs, palpitations.

An experienced teacher from the first days of meeting children understands which of them has increased anxiety. However, before making final conclusions, it is necessary to observe the child in question on different days of the week, during study and free activity (at recess, on the street), in communication with other children.

To understand the child, to find out what he is afraid of, you can ask parents or subject teachers to fill out a special questionnaire form. The adults' answers will clarify the situation, help to trace family history. And observation of the student's behavior will confirm or refute the assumption.

P. Baker and M. Alvord advise to look closely, whether the following signs are characteristic of the child: constant anxiety, difficulty, sometimes the inability to concentrate on anything, muscle tension(for example, in the area of the face, neck), irritability. It can be assumed that the child is anxious if at least one of the criteria listed above is constantly manifested.

Anxious children are characterized by frequent manifestations of anxiety and anxiety, as well as a large number of fears, and fears and anxiety arise in situations in which the child, it would seem, is not in danger. Anxious children are especially sensitive. So, the child may worry: while he is in the garden, suddenly something will happen to his mother.

Anxious children are often characterized by low self-esteem, in connection with which they have an expectation of trouble from others. This is typical for those children whose parents set them unbearable tasks, demanding that they are unable to fulfill them, and if they fail, they are usually punished and humiliated (“You cannot do anything! You cannot do anything! ").

Anxious children are very sensitive to their failures, react sharply to them, tend to give up activities, such as drawing, in which they have difficulty.

In such children, you can notice a noticeable difference in behavior in class and outside of class. Outside of class, these are lively, sociable and direct children, in class they are squeezed and tense. They answer the teacher's questions in a quiet and deaf voice, they may even start to stutter. Their speech can be either very fast, hasty, or slow, difficult. As a rule, prolonged excitement arises: the child fiddles with clothes, manipulates with something.

Anxious children are prone to bad habits of a neurotic nature (they bite their nails, suck their fingers, pull out their hair, masturbate). Manipulation with their own body reduces their emotional stress, calms them down.

Drawing helps to recognize anxious children. Their drawings are distinguished by an abundance of shading, strong pressure, as well as small sizes of images. Often these children get stuck on details, especially small ones.

Anxious children have a serious, restrained expression on their faces, lowered eyes, sits neatly on a chair, tries not to make unnecessary movements, not make noise, prefers not to attract the attention of others. Such children are called modest, shy. Parents of peers usually set them up as an example for their tomboys: “Look how well Sasha behaves. He doesn't indulge in a walk. He folds his toys neatly every day. He listens to his mother. " And, oddly enough, this whole list of virtues is true - these children behave "right".

But some parents care about the behavior of their children. “Sasha is not inquisitive at all. Likes to do only what he is used to. It is not possible in any way to interest him in something new. “Lyuba is very nervous. A little bit - into tears. And she does not want to play with the guys - she is afraid that they will break her toys. " "Alyosha constantly clings to his mother's skirt - you can't drag it away."

Thus, the behavior of anxious children is characterized by frequent manifestations of anxiety and anxiety, such children live in constant tension, all the time, feeling threatened, feeling that at any moment they may face setbacks.

Important place in modern psychology is gender studies disturbing behavior. It was noticed that the intensity of the experience of anxiety, the level of anxiety in boys and girls are different. In preschool and primary school age, boys are more anxious than girls. This is due to the situations with which they associate their anxiety, how they explain it, what they fear. And the older the children, the more noticeable this difference. Girls are more likely to associate their anxiety with other people. People with whom girls can associate their anxiety are not only friends, family, and teachers. Girls are afraid of so-called "dangerous people" - drunks, hooligans, etc.

Boys, on the other hand, are afraid of physical injury, accidents, and punishment that can be expected from parents or outside the family: teachers, school principals, etc.

The problem of anxiety is especially acute for adolescent children. Due to a number of age characteristics, adolescence is often referred to as the "age of anxiety." Teenagers worry about their appearance, about problems at school, relationships with parents, teachers, and peers. And the lack of understanding on the part of adults only intensifies the unpleasant sensations.

Correction of childhood anxiety using various methods of play therapy

Wellness program

This program is a set of games combined in two cycles and aimed at reducing the level of anxiety in children.

The first cycle includes games, the main purpose of which is to reduce the level of anxiety, develop the child's self-confidence and improve self-control skills.

The second cycle includes games, the main purpose of which is to help the child to become aware of his own feelings, experiences and to master new effective socially acceptable strategies of behavior.

Each lesson can include either one game, as presented in the program, or a combination of several games at the discretion of the psychologist. Classes require a separate room, preferably located away from the music and sports hall and from other sources of increased noise.

First cycle

Lesson 1. "Drawing game"

Lesson 2. "Tearing the Paper"

Lesson 3. "Play with a stopwatch"

Lesson 4. "Imagine that you can do it"

Lesson 5. "Playing with clay (dough, plasticine)"

Lesson 6. "Magic carpet"

Lesson 7. "Hidden Problems"

Second cycle

Lesson 8. "Feelings"

Lesson 9. "The world of feelings"

Lesson 11. "Writing stories with objects"

Lesson 12. "Construction"

Lesson 13. "Photo album"

First cycle

"Drawing game"

The first meeting with a psychologist, as a rule, causes anxiety in children or increases the existing feeling of anxiety. "Playing with pictures" allows you to reduce the level of anxiety in the child to increase the effectiveness of further work.

At the beginning of the game, the psychologist asks the child if he has ever played with drawings, and at the same time begins to draw and comment at the same time. With the words: "Let's draw a house", - he draws a square, and in it two smaller squares (windows) and a rectangle in the middle (door). “This is an ordinary house, with two windows, a roof and pipes” (triangle - roof, two rectangles - pipes).

“Sasha lived in a house with his parents. Once they bought him a puppy. " The psychologist addresses the child: "What did Sasha call the puppy?" The child may suggest some kind of nickname. If he does not, the psychologist himself suggests it. “Let's call him Rex. One day Sasha returned from kindergarten and did not find Rex's home. He went outside to look for the dog. " The psychologist draws a straight line down from the door.

Then he turns to the child: "Do you think Sasha found his dog there?" If the child answers “no” or is silent, the psychologist continues the story. If the child answers “yes”, the psychologist says: “Approaching the dog, Sasha saw that it only looked like Rex, but it was not Rex”. Then he continues the story: "Sasha began to look for Rex further." The psychologist draws several lines until something looks like four legs, and then he says: "Sasha remembered that Rex likes to walk in the park and went there." In this case, you need to draw a line slightly up, and then to the side, so that it looks like a tail. “Sasha walked through the park (the curl on the tail), but he never found Rex. And then he went home. " Here you can ask what mood Sasha was in, how quickly he walked home, what he did along the way. The psychologist then draws a horizontal line to the left and connects the park (tail) and the house (dog's head). As a result, you should get a drawing that looks like a dog. Then the psychologist asks: "What happened to our drawing?" If the child responds, the psychologist strikes up a conversation with him. If he is silent, then the psychologist himself must be told that the drawing has turned into a dog. Then you can invite the child to draw himself.

"Drawing game" allows the child to reduce the level of anxiety and makes it possible to establish a positive relationship between the child and the psychologist.

"Tearing paper"

This game helps to reduce stress, gives the child the opportunity to express emotions and reduce the state of anxiety in children.

For work, you must have old newspapers or any other unnecessary paper. At the beginning of the game, the psychologist may, without explaining the rules, simply invite the child to tear the paper. Then he takes the newspaper himself and begins to tear it up and toss the pieces into the center of the room, while telling the child that the size of the pieces is not important. If the child does not immediately connect to work, he should not be forced. The psychologist can stand with his back to the child, pretending not to notice him. As a rule, children get involved in the game. When the pile in the center of the room becomes large, the psychologist invites the child to play with the pieces and begins energetically tossing them up, scattering them around the room.

"Play with a stopwatch"

This game is conducted for the child to master the skills of self-control. As a result, the child will increase the motivation to control his reactions and he will be able to feel satisfaction from the result of the performed action.

To play the game, you will need a stopwatch, chips, drawing supplies, cubes. The child will have to complete one of two tasks: build a tower from cubes or paint a stenciled image.

Starting the game with a stopwatch, the psychologist says: “Now I will give you ten chips. Here are the cubes. You need to build a tower in 10 minutes. If you are distracted, you will not be in time. Moreover, every time you get distracted, start talking, ask me questions or do something else, you will give me one chip at a time. If you complete the task in 10 minutes, I will give you 10 more chips. When you have 30 chips, you win and you will receive a prize. "

The complication of the game is that after several sessions (when the child learns not to be distracted), the psychologist deliberately distracts the child while completing the task. In this case, the latter is instructed not to pay attention to the therapist. Subsequent possible complications of the game are associated with the lengthening of the task execution time by 5 minutes.

"Imagine that you can do it"

The exercise is used to build self-confidence in the child. The child is invited not only to do something, but to imagine that he can do it and show it. For example, if you ask your child to tie their shoelaces, they may refuse. In this exercise, the psychologist asks him to imagine that he can tie his shoelaces and show him how to do it.

In an imaginary play situation, the child feels more free and is not afraid that something will not work out for him. Moreover, in this case, the process of independent action itself is more valuable for the child than its result.

"Playing with clay (dough, plasticine)"

To play the game, you must have plastic material (clay, dough, plasticine), a set of molds (allowing you to reflect a variety of emotionally significant topics), a rolling pin, various graphic and ornamental objects (pebbles, feathers, toothpicks, pencils, stacks, a hammer, a plastic knife).

First, the child is given the opportunity to study the properties of the material provided to him, to play with it. In this case, the psychologist can also play with the material. As a rule, at first the child plays with the material and objects for some time, studying their properties and observing the therapist's reaction. Then he moves on to the main stage of work - the creation of certain images. Each child's work with the material is individual, so the psychologist needs to behave quite sensitively and carefully in order to choose the optimal moment in order to intervene in the process of children's creativity.

There are two main ways children can work with material:

1. Creation of single symbolic images.

2. Creation of a set of figures or images that are used for role play.

This game allows the child to reduce the level of anxiety, weaken and relieve emotional and physical stress.

"Magic carpet"

The game is aimed at relieving the child's tension, stiffness and reducing the level of anxiety.

To carry out the game, it is necessary to have a small, light rug that the child could easily move, but at the same time could fit on it while sitting and lying down.

The psychologist offers a rug to the child and says that this is not a simple rug, but a magic one, and at the moment it has turned into a house (hospital, kindergarten, crib, etc., depending on the child's problem). Then the psychologist offers to play on this rug and himself joins in the game, taking on the role of a mother (teacher or another person, depending on the child's problem).

"Hidden Problems"

Most anxious children tend to have anxious experiences in them. This game will allow your child to express their feelings, reduce anxiety levels and prepare for the second cycle.

To play the game, you will need an empty container with a lid (box, box), felt-tip pens, paper. The psychologist makes a hole in the lid so that a small sheet of paper can be inserted there. Then he invites the child to draw what or who is disturbing (scaring) him, to tell about it, and then to throw it into the “mailbox”, i.e. hide the problem. If the child does not have enough visual skills or he refuses to draw, you can invite him to talk about his problem, then blow on a blank piece of paper (“put” the problem into it) and “hide” it in the “mailbox”.

After class, you can ask your child what he wants to do with the contents of the box. If the child finds it difficult to answer, the psychologist needs to offer various options: throw away, tear, crumple, burn, etc.

Second cycle

"The senses"

The main goal of the game is to help the child in expressing feelings and learning to correlate emotional states with their pictorial images.

To conduct the game, the psychologist needs to prepare cubes with faces drawn on them, depicting various feelings (joy, anger, sadness, fun, resentment, etc.).

At the first stage, the psychologist introduces the child to the images, naming the feelings. Then he asks the child to show him the cube and name what feeling is drawn on it. In this case, it is not at all necessary that the child name exactly the feeling that was originally assigned to the image.

At the next stage, the psychologist invites the child to build a tower or house from blocks. In this case, the child needs to take any cube, name the feeling that is depicted on it, and then use it to build.

The complication of the game lies in the fact that the child is asked not only to name the feeling that is depicted on the cube, but also to tell in what situation he experienced (is experiencing, could experience) this feeling.

"The world of feelings"

This game allows the child to feel the safe distance necessary to verbally describe their experiences. Involvement in play helps to remove psychological defenses and, in a conditional play context, makes it possible for the child to describe his experiences verbally. In addition, play allows the child to react to his feelings, which he is aware of, but cannot express in words.

During the game, the psychologist is at the child's level: either at the table or on the floor. He has 8 sheets of 10x15 cm paper, as well as a marker and a glass of chips. These can be bottle caps, circles cut from colored cardboard, or playing chips.

At the beginning of the game, the child is asked to list all the feelings he knows. At the same time, the psychologist, with the help of drawings on a sheet of paper, schematically conveys this feeling (for example, joy is a smile, sadness is a tear, etc.). The psychologist tries, first of all, to find out those feelings that are associated with the existing disorder in the child. If the verbal expression of feelings is difficult, the psychologist can suggest options to the child. After all 8 sheets are completed, the psychologist places them in front of the child. Then the psychologist tells a story, while he puts chips on those pictures that correspond to his feelings. The task can be somewhat complicated if, with the help of chips, the intensity and strength of the feeling is conveyed: the stronger the feeling, the more chips in one picture.

The child tells the following stories himself, and the psychologist puts chips on the corresponding pictures. If there are not enough images to convey feelings, they can be drawn additionally. This game is especially effective when working with anxious children: it allows you to understand the reasons that cause anxiety in a child.

Directional visualization

This game is based on the relaxation method. When using this game with children, you must first apply exercises aimed at achieving focused attention against a background of relaxation, and then evoke visual images in the child.

Using this method, the child gains control over his own body and feelings, but only if he is able to perform simple tasks in sequence and does not resist relaxation.

The child is invited to sit in a special, comfortable chair or on a crib. Then the child is asked to concentrate in turn on each muscle group (legs, arms, body, face), alternately straining and relaxing them. Ultimately, relaxation of all muscles is achieved. While deep muscle relaxation is helpful for guided visualization, in the early stages of work or when working with young children (who find it difficult to stay still), it is enough to ask the child to simply perform tasks related to focusing on different muscle groups. The child should be taught to achieve relaxation with open eyes. This will help him to further activate his imagination in an environment that is not conducive to immersion in deep relaxation.

"Writing stories with objects"

This game allows the child to define their feelings and realize the consequences of their actions in a given situation.

You will need five or six items to play the game. They put these objects in front of the child and explain that he needs to come up with a story about them, and the story should be interesting and should teach something. After that, the child chooses an object and comes up with a story about it. During the story, the psychologist can analyze with which hero the child identifies himself, what feelings and actions he attributes to him, how real they are. The psychologist then retells the child's story.

The main purpose of a child's essay and its retelling by a psychologist is to provide the child with the opportunity to understand his feelings and realize the consequences of his actions.

"Construction"

This game will help your child learn to verbally and non-verbally express their emotions.

The game requires cubes used as building materials. The psychologist explains to the child that together they will build a house (fence, tower, etc.). But before placing the cube, the child needs to be told what annoys him the most. Only then can he place his die. Then the psychologist does the same. Next time the child can tell what he likes the most, then what makes him happy, what makes him sad, what he is afraid of, etc. "Photo album"

This game allows the child to find out his feelings about certain events and people who are significant to him in a non-traumatic way, and also helps the child express his feelings.

To conduct the game, you need to ask the parents to pick up and bring family photographs, which would clearly enough depict the child's close relatives and, if possible, life situations reflecting various aspects of the child's life. You will also need scissors, glue, felt-tip pens, paper, tape.

Brought photographs are laid out on the floor so that they can be clearly seen. The therapist then asks the child questions about the people in the photographs. After that, photographs are revealed that the child for some reason does not like. The psychologist asks the child what exactly he does not like about them, and asks him to do as he would like: paint photos, cut out those people he does not like, glue those that he likes, etc. If the child does not have sufficient technical skills, the psychologist can help him modify the photographs. Modified photos are added to a separate "photo album".

This game can be performed several times during the entire correction process to monitor whether the child's attitude towards close relatives changes. The converted photographs can also serve as sufficient informational material. With the permission of the child, this "photo album" can be shown to parents.

To relieve anxiety in younger students, there are whole complexes of techniques, exercises. However, two methods play a central role.

1. Sequential desensitization method. Its essence lies in the fact that the child is placed in situations associated with an area that causes him anxiety and fear, starting with those that can only slightly worry him, and ending with those that cause severe anxiety, perhaps even fright. To relieve stress, the child is offered to suck on the candy.

2. The method of "reacting" to fear, anxiety, tension. It is carried out with the help of a dramatization game "in a very scary, scary school", where, first with the help of parsley dolls and then without them in the form of theatrical sketches, children depict the situations of school life that frighten them, and all the frightening moments should be brought to an extreme degree (" so that the audience was very scared "). In addition, you can use the techniques of "drawing fears", "stories about fears", and the school theme should be emphasized. In the course of this work, attempts at a humorous, caricatured depiction of situations are in every possible way encouraged.

Conclusions for chapter 1.

The state of pure or, as psychologists say, "free floating", anxiety is extremely difficult to bear. Uncertainty, unclearness of the source of the threat makes the search for a way out of the situation very difficult and difficult. With anger, I can fight. When I feel sad, I can seek comfort. But in a state of anxiety, I can neither defend myself nor fight, because I do not know what to fight and defend against.

As soon as anxiety arises, a number of mechanisms are activated in the child's soul that "process" this state into something else, albeit also unpleasant, but not so unbearable. Such a child may outwardly give the impression of being calm and even self-confident, but it is necessary to learn to recognize anxiety and “under the mask”.

Many psychologists have worked on the problem of "anxiety" in children.

So, for example, Evgeny Ivanovich Rogov developed correctional work with students experiencing the so-called open anxiety, E.I. Rogov. offer a number of techniques, for example "pleasant memory", where the student is asked to imagine a situation in which he experienced complete peace, relaxation and as vividly as possible, trying to remember all the sensations or the "Smile" technique, where exercises are given to relax the muscles of the face.

Raisa Viktorovna Ovcharova highlighted ways to overcome anxiety in children, where the work of a teacher to relieve anxiety and fears can be carried out directly during training sessions, when certain methods and techniques are used.

A. M. Prikhozhan developed methods and techniques for psychocorrectional work with anxiety, described the work on psychological education of parents and teachers. He developed correctional programs

A program for children entering school.

A program for students in the transition from primary to secondary.

A program to develop self-confidence and the ability to self-knowledge, etc.

Margarita Ivanovna Chistyakova in her book "Psychogymnastics" has developed exercises for relaxation, both individual muscles and the whole body, which will be very useful for anxious children.

Doctor of Psychology Mary Avord (USA) presented a set of exercises for muscle relaxation. The technique of working with children includes both physical stress and visualization (some representations).

Psychologists R. Tammla, M. Dorne, V. Amena developed an anxiety test, the purpose of which is to study the child's anxiety in relation to a number of life situations typical for him of communicating with other people.

The source of the instilled fears of children are adults around the child (parents, grandmothers, caregivers of childcare institutions), who involuntarily infect the child with fear, by the fact that they are too persistently, emphatically emotionally indicating the presence of danger. Fears that arise from overly anxious parents can also be attributed to the number of suggested ones. Talking to a child about death, disease, fires, murders affects his psyche, cripples it. All this gives reason to talk about the reflex nature of fear, even if the child is frightened (shudders) at a sudden knocking or noise, because the latter was once accompanied by an extremely unpleasant experience. Such a combination is imprinted in the memory in the form of a certain emotional trace and is now involuntarily associated with any sudden sound impact.

School fears not only deprive the child of psychological comfort, the joy of learning, but also contribute to the development of childhood neuroses. First-graders who, for various reasons, cannot cope with the academic load, eventually fall into the category of unsuccessful ones, which in turn leads to both neuroses and school fear.

Anxious children are very sensitive to their failures, react sharply to them, tend to give up activities, such as drawing, in which they have difficulty.

Observing children in a kindergarten group, talking with educators and parents, you can see the emergence of a large number of emotionally unstable, anxious older preschoolers.

It is possible to conditionally divide anxious children into four groups: "neurotics", "disinhibited", "shy", "withdrawn".

"Neurotics". Children with somatic manifestations (tics, enuresis, stuttering, etc.). This is the most difficult category for working with them at school, since the problem goes beyond a purely psychological framework. In addition, dealing with psychosomatic manifestations of anxiety requires patience and self-confidence, which the school psychologist usually lacks. Such children often need a consultation with a neurologist and sometimes a psychiatrist. Unfortunately, modern parents are so afraid of the word "psychiatrist" that they do not always agree to go to see him. It's good if you can recommend someone you trust yourself. When working with this type of anxious children, first of all, it is necessary to give them the opportunity to speak out, to feel my disposition towards them and interest in their fears. It is also necessary to reassure parents, ask them not to focus on somatic manifestations.

The task of the psychologist is to create a situation of comfort and acceptance for the child, to find and minimize the traumatic factor. It is useful for such children to draw fears, any manifestation of activity will help them, for example, "thrash" pillows, hug with soft toys.

Uninhibited. These are very active, emotionally excitable children with deeply hidden fears. At first they try very hard to study well, but they fail. Then they become disciplinary offenders. They can deliberately pretend to be a laughing stock for the class, as they are very afraid to actually become such because of their failure. It seems that with increased activity they are trying to drown out fear. They may have mild organic disorders that interfere with successful studies (problems with memory, attention, fine motor skills).

Such children need a benevolent attitude of others, support from the teacher and classmates. We need to create in them a sense of success, help them believe in their own strength. In the classroom, it is necessary to give an outlet to their activity.

Shy. Usually they are quiet, charming children. They are afraid to answer at the blackboard, do not raise their hand, do not show initiative, do not come into contact with peers, are very diligent and diligent in their studies. They are afraid to ask the teacher about something, they are very afraid if he raises his voice (not necessarily to them). They worry if they haven't done something, they often cry because of minor troubles. All mistakes are neatly covered up or erased. They will not calm down until they have done everything that is asked. They willingly communicate with a psychologist, talk about themselves, and complete assignments.

Such children will be helped by a group of peers selected according to their interests. Adults should support them, in case of difficulty, calmly offer a way out, recognize the child's right to make a mistake, and praise more.

"Closed". Gloomy, unfriendly children. They do not react to criticism in any way, they try not to enter into contact with adults, avoid noisy games, sit separately. They may have problems in their studies, since there is no interest in anything and involvement in the process. It seems that they are constantly expecting a dirty trick from everyone.

When working with such children, it is necessary to build on their interests, show participation and goodwill. It is also useful for them to speak out, and then join a group of peers with similar interests.

Conflicting requirements from parents or parents and school (kindergarten). For example, parents do not let their children go to school because they feel unwell, and the teacher puts a “bad mark” in the journal and scolds him for skipping a lesson in the presence of other children.

Inadequate requirements (often overstated). For example, parents repeatedly repeat to a child that he must certainly be an excellent student, they cannot and do not want to come to terms with the fact that a son or daughter gets not only A's at school and is not the best student in the class.

Negative demands that humiliate the child put him in a dependent position. For example, a caregiver or teacher tells a child: "If you tell who misbehaved in my absence, I will not tell my mother that you had a fight."

Let's highlight the behavioral features associated with the specifics of the manifestation of anxiety in children. Anxious children get tired quickly and find it difficult to switch to other activities. This is due to the constant voltage. Often, anxious children show inadequately high self-esteem. They want so much to be accepted, praised, that they often wishful thinking. It cannot even be called a deception - it is a defensive reaction. Anxious children feel heightened responsibility for everything that happens, they tend to blame themselves for all the troubles that happen to their loved ones. Even if outwardly it does not manifest itself in any way, it breaks through in the conversation. The child must know the limits of his responsibility. On the one hand, when you are responsible for someone, you stop being afraid and start acting, but on the other hand, this creates unbearable stress, therefore, anxiety increases.

A portrait of an anxious child can be depicted as follows: a child enters the group, he intensely peers at everything that is around, shyly, almost silently, greets and awkwardly sits on the edge of the nearest chair. He seems to be expecting some kind of trouble. This is a disturbing child. There are many such children in kindergarten, and working with them is not easier, and even more difficult than with other categories of "problem" children, because both hyperactive and aggressive children are always in sight, as if in the palm of their hand, and anxious try to keep their problems at yourself. They are distinguished by excessive anxiety, and sometimes they are afraid not of the event itself, but of its premonitions. They often expect the worst. Children feel helpless, afraid to play new games, start new activities. They have high demands on themselves, they are very self-critical. The level of their self-esteem is low, such children really think that they are worse than others in everything, that they are the most ugly, stupid, awkward. They are looking for encouragement, approval of adults in all matters.

Anxious children are very sensitive to their failures, react sharply to them, tend to give up activities, such as drawing, in which they have difficulty. In such children, you can notice a noticeable difference in behavior in class and outside of class. Outside of class, these are lively, sociable and direct children, in class they are squeezed and tense. They answer the teacher's questions in a quiet and deaf voice, they may even start to stutter. Their speech can be either very fast, hasty, or slow, difficult. As a rule, prolonged excitement arises: the child fiddles with clothes, manipulates with something. Anxious children are prone to bad habits of a neurotic nature (they bite their nails, suck their fingers, pull out their hair, masturbate). Manipulation with their own body reduces their emotional stress, calms them down. Drawing helps to recognize anxious children. Their drawings are distinguished by an abundance of shading, strong pressure, as well as small sizes of images. Often these children get stuck on details, especially small ones.

Anxious children have a serious, restrained expression on their faces, lowered eyes, sits neatly on a chair, tries not to make unnecessary movements, not make noise, prefers not to attract the attention of others. Such children are called modest, shy. Anxious children are also characterized by somatic problems: abdominal pain, dizziness, headaches, cramps in the throat, shortness of breath, etc. During the manifestation of anxiety, they often feel dry mouth, lump in the throat, weakness in the legs, palpitations.

An experienced teacher, of course, in the very first days of meeting children will understand which of them has increased anxiety. However, before making final conclusions, it is necessary to observe the child in question on different days of the week, during study and free activity (at recess, on the street), in communication with other children. P. Baker and M. Alvord advise to look closely, whether the following signs are characteristic of the child's behavior.

The following criteria for determining anxiety in a child can be distinguished:

constant worry;

difficulty, sometimes inability to concentrate on anything;

muscle tension (eg, in the face, neck);

irritability;

sleep disorders.

It can be assumed that a child is anxious if at least one of the criteria listed above is constantly manifested in his behavior.

In the literature, there are two main approaches to overcoming anxiety, including in children. In one of them, the emphasis is on the formation of a person's constructive ways of behaving in difficult situations for him, as well as on mastering techniques that allow him to cope with excessive excitement and anxiety. In the other, the central place is occupied by work to strengthen a person's self-confidence, the development of positive self-esteem and self-image, care for personal growth.

Naturally, in practice, and often in theory, these approaches are relatively rare in their pure form, we are talking only about the main emphasis, about what is mainly paid attention. In our work, we tried to implement the second approach. The starting point for us was the one developed by L.I. Bozovic and her employees the provision that personal education is a stable motive (or a system of motives) and a stable form of its implementation. We assumed that anxiety, like any experience reflecting the degree of satisfaction of needs, becoming a stable personality formation, “takes root”, respectively, at three levels: motive; the usual forms and methods of its implementation; a new experience generated by anxiety.

General principles of psychological work with anxious children:

draw and act out frightening situations;

create a situation of success, competence;

give an outlet to the child's activity and aggression;

reassure parents;

Since anxiety is associated with a distorted interpretation of social reality and the inability to adequately predict the reactions of interaction partners and predict the outcome of an event, to reduce the level of anxiety it is necessary:

1) Development of stereoscopic psychological vision of anxious children. Correctional work with anxious children should teach the child to see new opportunities in the approach to life phenomena, expand the prospects for their understanding, and become aware of new points of view on events. In particular, this work presupposes: the development of decentration as the ability to refuse to accept one's own “I” as a starting point and the ability to switch to other points of view; versioning of thinking and behavior as the ability to see simultaneously many ways of explaining a problem and its solution; flexibility as the ability to quickly switch from one reaction to another (Malkina-Pykh I.G.).

2) Self-knowledge, expansion and deepening of the image of "I". Helping an anxious child to see something new in himself, to explore his place in the space of interpersonal relations and to realize the role of his own actions in the emerging, the psychologist helps to overcome the barriers that hinder the successful social adaptation of the child.

3) The development of new patterns of behavior, based on the child's discovery of new points of view and opportunities for interaction, a deeper orientation in the interpersonal space and a reflexive attitude to his own position and behavior.

It was found that the use of techniques for affective-personal and behavioral correction also contributes to the formation of cognitive processes:

analysis of external stimuli (visual, auditory, kinesthetic);

the search for safe stereotyped forms and reactions of behavior (considering the prospects of behavior);

selection and consolidation of individually preferred positive forms, reactions; awareness of their desires, their "I";

awareness of the desires of other people (emotional and intellectual decentration);

highlighting the emotions of people that regulate behavior (L. S. Vygotsky; L. B. Baryaeva; N. L. Belopolskaya; E. A. Ekzhanova; A. V. Zaporozhets; B. V. Zeigarnik; I. Yu. Levchenko; A. N. Leontiev; I. I. Mamaichuk; E. A. Medvedeva; V. N. Myasishchev; S. Ya. Rubinshtein; R.D. Trigger; U. V. Ulyenkova and others).

To achieve these goals, an integrative approach is used, which includes methods of behavioral and play therapy, art therapy, fairy tale therapy, music therapy, psychocorrectional games and psycho-regulatory training, breathing exercises, muscle relaxation exercises and exercises to relieve emotional stress, psycho-gymnastics.

In connection with the beginning of schooling, a child may develop school anxiety, which can be triggered by various factors. It is important that the teacher is able to identify such children, can understand the cause of increased anxiety and, based on these data, help the child cope with this problem.

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Problem: school anxiety. Features of the behavior of an anxious child

With the beginning of schooling, significant changes occur in the emotional life of children. At the same time, younger students still cannot restrain the manifestations of emotions. The need for regular and as early as possible control over the course of the child's mental development and correction of the disorders that have arisen has long been recognized in Russian psychology. At the same time, the prospect of a real solution to this most important practical problem arose relatively recently, with the beginning of the creation of a psychological service at school.

Teachers consider only aggressive and hyperactive children to be problematic, and little attention is paid to anxious ones. They usually study average, quiet, and are considered problem-free children. But the problem with these children is that the heightened anxiety they experience in a wide variety of school situations prevents them from learning effectively. And poor grades and exaggerated demands from adults lead to an increase in fear and anxiety. It turns out a vicious circle from which a child cannot get out on his own without the help of an adult. The teacher should not leave the child alone with his problem, but should purposefully eliminate them, individually approaching each child and working with the parents.

Fear can develop in a person at any age: in children from one to three years of age, night fears are not uncommon, in the 2nd year of life, fear of unexpected sounds, fear of loneliness, fear of pain is most often manifested. At 3-5 years old, children are characterized by fears of loneliness, darkness, confined space. At 5-7 years of age, the fear of death becomes the leading one. From 7 to 11 years old, children are most afraid of “not being the one they speak well of, who is respected, appreciated and understood”

Currently, the number of anxious children has increased, characterized by increased anxiety, insecurity, emotional instability. Unlike anxiety as a state, anxiety as a personality trait is not inherent in everyone. Anxiety becomes a stable personality education in adolescence. Prior to that, it is a derivative of a wide range of violations. The strengthening and strengthening of anxiety occurs according to the mechanism of a "closed psychological circle" leading to the accumulation and deepening of negative emotional experience, which, in turn, generating negative prognostic assessments and largely determining the modality of actual experiences, contributes to the increase and persistence of anxiety. It is for the prevention of neurotic-anxious type of personality development that it is necessary to help children find effective ways with which they could cope with anxiety, insecurity, and other manifestations of emotional instability.
However, for a harmonious full-fledged life, a certain level of anxiety is simply necessary. Such anxiety does not paralyze a person, but, on the contrary, mobilizes him to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Therefore, it is called constructive. As for the pedagogical process, the feeling of anxiety inevitably accompanies the educational activity of the child in any, even the most ideal school. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law

the optimal level of anxiety increases the productivity of the activity.

Completely relieve the state of anxiety, you can only eliminate all difficulties, which is not real, and is not necessary. However, in a significant part of the cases, we are dealing with a destructive manifestation of anxiety, which causes a state of panic, despondency. The child begins to doubt his abilities and strengths. But anxiety disorganizes not only educational activity, it begins to destroy personality structures.

The famous psychologist A. Parikhozhan identifies the following features of anxious children at school:

Relatively high level of learning. At the same time, the teacher may consider such a child incapable or insufficiently capable of learning.

These schoolchildren cannot single out the main task in their work and focus on it. They try to control all elements of the assignment at the same time.

If the task cannot be completed immediately, the anxious child refuses further attempts. He explains his failure not by his inability to solve a specific problem, but by his lack of any abilities.

In the lesson, the behavior of such children may seem strange: sometimes they answer questions correctly, sometimes they are silent or answer at random, giving, including ridiculous, answers. They speak confusedly, excitedly, blushing and gesticulating, sometimes barely audible. And it has nothing to do with how well the child knows the lesson.

When an anxious schoolchild is pointed out to his mistake, the strangeness of behavior intensifies, he seems to lose all orientation in the situation, does not understand how he can and should behave.

Anxiety can be very difficult to discern behind aggressiveness. Anxious children often come to a simple conclusion - in order not to be afraid of anything, you need to make sure that they are afraid of me. In the words of Eric Berne, they are trying to convey their anxiety to others. Therefore, aggressive behavior is often a form of hiding personal anxiety.

Another common outcome of anxious experiences is passive behavior, lethargy, apathy, lack of initiative. The conflict between conflicting aspirations was resolved by abandoning any aspirations. The "mask" of apathy is even more deceiving than the "mask" of aggression. Inertia, the absence of any emotional reactions, makes it difficult to recognize an alarming situation.

The fantasy world is a refuge for many children, their salvation from anxiety. In fantasies, the child resolves his insoluble conflicts; in dreams, his unmet needs are satisfied.

Anxious children are prone to addictions of a neurotic nature.

VV Lebedinsky emphasizes that each age has “its own” fears, which in the case of normal development are an important link in the regulation of behavior and eventually disappear. Anxiety and fear are not unambiguously "harmful" for the child, they are not diseases in themselves, but, overlapping on another ailment, they make the child's course heavier.

Childhood fears are common in child development. The emergence of certain fears coincides in time with a leap in psychological development. But, it is necessary to separate pathological fear and anxiety, requiring correction, from the normal, age level, so as not to disrupt the development of the child.

Knowledge of the causes of increased anxiety and fears will lead to the creation and timely implementation of correctional and developmental work, contributing to the reduction of anxiety and the formation of adequate behavior in children.

As evidenced by recent experimental studies, anxiety in preschoolers is the most common phenomenon (IV Dubrovina, VI Garbuzov, AI Zakharov, EB Kovaleva and others).

Anxiety in psychology is understood as a person's tendency to experience anxiety, that is, an emotional state that arises in situations of uncertain danger and manifests

in anticipation of an unfavorable development of events. ...

A.M. The parishioner defines anxiety as "the experience of emotional discomfort associated with the expectation of trouble, with a presentiment of impending danger."

According to A.M. Parishioners, "the consolidation and strengthening of anxiety occurs according to the mechanism of the" psychological circle "leading to the accumulation and deepening of negative emotional experience, which, in turn, generating negative prognostic assessments and largely determining the modality of actual experiences, contributes to the increase and persistence of anxiety."

Increased anxiety affects all areas of the child's psyche: affective-emotional, communicative, moral-volitional, cognitive.

Investigating the age-related dynamics of anxiety, T.V. Lavrentieva. suggests that a six-year-old child, unlike a two-year-old, may no longer show fear or tears. He learns not only in to a large extent control the expression of your feelings, clothe them in a culturally accepted form, but also use them consciously, informing others about your experiences, influencing them

But preschoolers are still spontaneous and impulsive. The emotions they experience are easily read on the face, in posture, gesture, in all behavior. For a practical psychologist, the behavior of a child, the expression of feelings by him is an important indicator in understanding the inner world of a small person, testifying to his mental state, well-being, and possible development prospects.

Psychologists note the following features that can characterize an anxious child: depression, bad mood, confusion, the child hardly smiles or does it ingratiatingly, the head and shoulders are lowered, the expression on the face is sad or indifferent. In such cases, problems arise in communication and establishing contact. The child often cries, is easily offended, sometimes for no apparent reason. He spends a lot of time alone, is not interested in anything. On examination, such a child is depressed, not proactive, and has difficulty making contact.

Anxious children are usually very insecure and have unstable self-esteem. Their constant fear of the unknown leads to the fact that they rarely take the initiative. Being obedient, they prefer not to attract the attention of others, behave approximately both at home and in kindergarten, try to accurately fulfill the requirements of parents and educators - do not violate discipline, clean up toys after themselves. They try to make a good impression on others and firmly know how to behave so that there are no problems and comments. Such children are called modest, shy. However, their exemplaryness, accuracy, discipline are defensive in nature - the child does everything to avoid failure.

Anxious children quickly get tired, get tired, it is difficult for them to switch to other activities. This is due to the constant voltage.

Anxious children feel heightened responsibility for everything that happens, they tend to blame themselves for all the troubles that happen to their loved ones. Even if outwardly it does not manifest itself in any way, it breaks through in the conversation.

Often, anxious children show inadequately high self-esteem. They want so much to be accepted, praised, that they often wishful thinking. It cannot even be called a deception - it is a defensive reaction.

Also, the reaction of psychological defense can manifest itself in the form of aggression directed at others. So, one of the most famous ways that anxious children often choose is based on a simple conclusion: "in order to be afraid of nothing, you need to make sure that they are afraid of me." The mask of aggression carefully hides anxiety not only from others, but also from the child himself. Nevertheless, deep down in their hearts they still have the same anxiety, confusion and uncertainty, the absence of a solid support.

The reaction of psychological defense is expressed in the refusal of communication and avoidance of persons from whom the "threat" comes. Such a child is lonely, withdrawn, inactive.

It is also possible that the child finds psychological protection "by going into the fantasy world." In fantasies, the child resolves his insoluble conflicts, in dreams he finds satisfaction for his non-embodied needs. The disconnection from reality is in the very content of disturbing fantasies, which have nothing in common with the actual capabilities and abilities, the prospects for the development of the child. Such children do not dream at all about what they really have a soul for, in which they could really prove themselves.

It was noticed that the intensity of the experience of anxiety, the level of anxiety in boys and girls are different. In preschool and preschool years, boys are more anxious than girls. It depends on what situations they associate their anxiety with, how they explain it, what they fear. And the older the children, the more noticeable this difference. Girls are more likely to associate their anxiety with other people. People with whom girls can associate their anxiety are not only friends, family, and teachers. Girls are afraid of the so-called "dangerous people" - drunks, hooligans, etc. Boys, on the other hand, are afraid of physical injury, accidents, as well as punishments that can be expected from parents or outside the family: teachers, school principals, etc. ...

M. Kravtsova, according to the characteristic manifestations of anxious children, can be conditionally divided into several groups, each of which has its own characteristics:

"Neurotics". Children with somatic manifestations (tics, enuresis, stuttering, etc.). This is the most difficult category for psychological work with them, since the problem goes beyond a purely psychological framework. In addition, dealing with psychosomatic manifestations of anxiety requires patience and self-confidence, which the kindergarten psychologist usually lacks.

Such children often need a consultation with a neurologist and sometimes a psychiatrist. Unfortunately, modern parents are so afraid of the word "psychiatrist" that they do not always agree to go to see him. When working with this type of anxious children, you need, first of all, to give them the opportunity to speak out, to feel disposition towards them and interest in their fears. It is also necessary to reassure parents, ask them not to focus on somatic manifestations.

"Uninhibited". These are very active, emotionally excitable children with deeply hidden fears. They can become violators of discipline, deliberately pretend to be a laughing stock, because they are very afraid to actually become such because of their unsuccessfulness. It seems that with increased activity they are trying to drown out fear.