Reported Early Separation Anxiety Symptoms in Patients with Panic and Generalised Anxiety Disorders

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrick Silove ◽  
Vijaya Manicavasagar ◽  
Dianne O'connell ◽  
Alex Blaszczynski

Attachment theory has proposed that early separation anxiety is a risk factor for adult anxiety disorder, with the recent focus being particularly on panic disorder. The results of empirical studies examining this link are, however, contradictory, possibly because of inconsistencies across studies in measuring memories of early separation anxiety. In the present study, a psychometrically sound measure, the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI) was used to compare memories of such early symptoms in panic disorder (including those with mild phobic-avoidance), generalised anxiety disorder and control subjects. Anxiety patients as a group returned higher SASI scores (p<0.001) with a non-significant trend for panic disorder patients to score higher than those with generalised anxiety. These results suggest that early separation anxiety may be a harbinger of adult anxiety and that risk of panic disorder may be higher in the most severely affected youngsters. As a risk factor, early separation anxiety does not however appear to be uniquely related to adult panic disorder.

1996 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrick Silove ◽  
Vijaya Manicavasagar ◽  
Jackie Curtis ◽  
Alex Blaszczynski

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon E Grant

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders among adults in the United States. Although anxiety disorders generally result in significant psychosocial impairment, most adults do not seek treatment until many years after the onset of the anxiety disorder. The treatment literature for anxiety disorder has grown tremendously since the 1980s, and both psychotherapy and medications may prove beneficial for people with anxiety disorders. This review presents a general overview of the anxiety disorders. This review contains 7 tables, and 33 references. Key words: agoraphobia, anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, treatment of anxiety


Author(s):  
Seyyedeh Masoumeh Seyyedi Andi ◽  
Mahmoud Najafi ◽  
Isaac Rahimian Boogar

Aims: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of child-centered play therapy and (CPRT) on the affective styles in children suffering from separation anxiety disorder. Method: The research method was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test and control groups. The statistical population of this study consisted of all female students with separation anxiety in the fifth and sixth grades of primary schools in city of Babol, of whom 45 of these students were selected via random sampling, and were randomly divided into three groups: experimental group-1, experimental group-2 and control group. The first experimental group received child-centered play therapy with Axline approach in sixteen 45-minute sessions, and the second experimental group were taught (CPRT) ten 2-hour sessions. The research instruments were questionnaire (form d) of the children Symptoms Inventory (Sprafkin, Lani & Gadow, 1994) and the Affective Style Questionnaire (Hofmann & Kashdan, 2010) . Covariance was used to analyze the data. Findings: The results showed that both interventions play an effective role in improving the affective styles in children with separation anxiety disorder. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the effectiveness of (CPRT) and child-centered play therapy and the (CPRT) was more effective in improving the affective styles there (p< 0/05). Conclusions: CPRT training can be considered as a more suitable alternative in improving the affective styles as well as in improving the psycho-cognitive symptoms of children with separation anxiety disorder.


1996 ◽  
Vol 168 (S30) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jules Angst

From the Zurich cohort study (n=591), the association of major depressive episodes and recurrent brief depression (RBD) with other psychiatric disorders is presented cross-sectionally at age 28 and 30 years, and over ten years (age 20 to 30 years). Longitudinally, the odds ratios of major depression are highest with dysthymia (4.4), generalised anxiety disorder (4.4), panic disorder (2.7), hypomania and agoraphobia (2.6), and social phobia (2.4). There is a significant association with cannabis consumption and smoking. Follow-up data over nine years are available for 41 patients with a major depressive disorder (MDD) and 62 with RBD: approximately 20% of MDD patients did not receive a diagnosis during follow-up. Major depression reoccurred in 32%, became bipolar in 24%, or developed into RBD in 24%. RBD remitted in 41 %, reoccurred in 35%, turned into major depression in 22%, and became bipolar in only 7%. Longitudinally, MDD and RBD show a symmetrical diagnostic change in a quarter of the cases. There is no substantial development of MDD or RBD into minor depression or generalised anxiety disorder. Thirteen per cent of those with RBD later developed panic disorder.


CNS Spectrums ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Gesi ◽  
Marianna Abelli ◽  
Alessandra Cardini ◽  
Lisa Lari ◽  
Luca Di Paolo ◽  
...  

Objective/IntroductionHigh levels of comorbidity between separation anxiety disorder (SEPAD) and panic disorder (PD) have been found in clinical settings. In addition, there is some evidence for a relationship involving bipolar disorder (BD) and combined PD and SEPAD. We aim to investigate the prevalence and correlates of SEPAD among patients with PD and whether the presence of SEPAD is associated with frank diagnoses of mood disorders or with mood spectrum symptoms.MethodsAdult outpatients (235) with PD were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS), and the Mood Spectrum Self-Report Instrument (MOODS-SR, lifetime version).ResultsOf ther 235 subjects, 125 (53.2%) were categorized as having SEPAD and 110 (46.8%) as not. Groups did not differ regarding onset of PD, lifetime prevalence of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), social phobia, simple phobia, BD I and II, or major depressive disorder (MDD). SEPAD subjects were more likely to be female and younger; they showed higher rates of childhood SEPAD, higher PDSS scores, and higher MOODS-SR total and manic component scores than subjects without SEPAD.DiscussionSEPAD is highly prevalent among PD subjects. Patients with both PD and SEPAD show higher lifetime mood spectrum symptoms than patients with PD alone. Specifically, SEPAD is correlated with the manic/hypomanic spectrum component.ConclusionOur data confirm the high prevalence of SEPAD in clinical settings. Moreover, our findings corroborate a relationship between mood disorders and SEPAD, highlighting a relationship between lifetime mood spectrum symptoms and SEPAD.


2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. HAYWARD ◽  
J. D. KILLEN ◽  
C. B. TAYLOR

Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical correlates of agoraphobic fear and avoidance and panic disorder in a non-clinical sample of adolescents.Method. In a sample of 2365 high school students, combined data from a questionnaire and a structured clinical interview were used to classify subjects with agoraphobic fear and avoidance. Panic symptoms, major depression, childhood separation anxiety disorder, anxiety sensitivity and negative affectivity were also assessed.Results. Fifteen subjects met study criteria for agoraphobic fear and avoidance in the past year. Only three (20%) of those with agoraphobia symptoms reported histories of panic attacks and there was no overlap between those with agoraphobic fear and avoidance and the 12 subjects who met DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder. However, subjects with agoraphobia symptoms and those with panic disorder reported similar levels of anxiety sensitivity and negative affectivity. Childhood separation anxiety disorder was more common among those with agoraphobic fear and avoidance compared to those without.Conclusion. Agoraphobic avoidance is rare in non-clinical samples of adolescents and usually not associated with panic attacks. However, adolescents with agoraphobia symptoms and those with panic disorder have similar clinical correlates consistent with a panic/agoraphobia spectrum model.


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