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Anxiety disorders are widely recognized as among the most common psychiatric disorders affecting children and adolescents (Anderson, Williams, McGee, & Silva, 1987; Bell-Dolan & Brazeal, 1993; Costello & Angold, 1995; Gurley, Cohen, Pine, & Brook, 1996; Kashani & Orvaschel, 1988; Orvaschel & Weissman, 1986), and yet these disorders are not well understood with regard to youths (Zahn-Waxler, Klimes-Dougan, & Slattery, 2000). Transient fears and anxieties are considered part of normal development; however, for some children, this developmental expectation may serve to mask the presence of an emerging or existing anxiety disorder (Muris, Merckelbach, Mayer, & Prins, 2001). High and stable levels of anxiety are associated with severe impairment in functioning, expressed in its most disabling form through a child’s avoidance of such activities as school, peer involvement, and the attainment of stage-related developmental tasks (Albano & Detweiler, 2001; Bell-Dolan & Brazeal, 1993). Long-term outcomes of anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence are still not well understood, and conflicting evidence exists suggesting a more optimistic prognosis in some studies (eg, Last, Perrin, Hersen & Kazdin, 1996; Last, Hansen, & Franco, 1997), while others show an increased risk for additional anxiety disorders, depression, and other negative mental health outcomes over time (Berg et al., 1989; Feehan, McGee, & Williams, 1993; Ferdinand & Verhulst, 1995; Flament et al., 1990;