![]() Affected adults experience intense fears that harm will befall close attachment figures, engaging in a range of strategies to maintain close contact with them. ![]() Apart from minor symptom differences associated with maturation, the adult pattern appears to parallel the established category of childhood separation anxiety disorder (CSAD). The National Comorbidity Study Replication was the first large-scale epidemiological study to include the diagnosis, revealing a lifetime prevalence of 6.6%. The adult form of separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) has only recently been described in the psychiatric literature. The findings have implications for the classification, clinical identification and treatment of adult anxiety disorders. Patients with ASAD attending an anxiety clinic are highly symptomatic and disabled. Except for social phobia in relation to some comparisons, those with ASAD recorded more severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, higher neuroticism scores, and greater levels of disability. Patients with ASAD had elevated early separation anxiety scores but this association was unique in females only. These measures were included in three models examining for overall differences and then by gender: Model 1 compared the conventional SCID anxiety subtypes (excluding PTSD and OCD because of insufficient numbers) Model 2 divided the sample into those with and without ASAD Model 3 compared those with ASAD with the individual anxiety subtypes in the residual group. ![]() Other self-report measures included the Adult Separation Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (ASA-27), the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS-21), personality traits measured by the NEO PI-R and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. ![]() We also measured demographic factors and reports of early separation anxiety (the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory and a retrospective diagnosis of childhood separation anxiety disorder). ![]() MethodsĬlinical psychologists assigned 520 consecutive patients to DSM-IV adult anxiety subcategories using the SCID. This study assessed the prevalence and risk factor profile associated with ASAD in an anxiety clinic. Adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) has been identified recently, but there is a paucity of data about its prevalence and associated characteristics amongst anxiety patients. ![]()
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