Abstract
We illustrate the value of a developmental perspective for understanding anxiety disorders by: (1) reviewing evidence for continuity of the anxiety phenotype from childhood to adulthood to show how these findings have implications for nosology, research, and prevention; (2) use posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to reveal how developmental origins can be identifi ed much earlier in life, far removed from traumatic precipitating events; (3) consider the interplay of biological, cognitive, personality, and environmental factors in etiology of panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia; and (4) take an in-depth look at obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to highlight how a developmental approach may be essential for progress to be made in our understanding of this and other anxiety disorders.