The relationship between anxiety disorders in adulthood and separation anxiety in childhood and adulthood

ABSTRACT Introduction and Objectives: Anxiety is a state of unease and nervousness caused by anticipation of a danger which will possibly come from inside or outside. Being physiological, and beneficial to cope with stress; anxiety is evaluated as anxiety disorder in the case of being experienced fiercely and in long terms; or affecting life of the person in a negative way. Separation anxiety disorder is a state characterized by excessive and extensive fear towards the risk of separation or separation of the individual from major attachment figure. Acknowledged as a disorder peculiar to childhood in the past, it is now defined as a disorder which can be present at all ages with the version of DMS-5. In previous literature, there are some studies dealing with the fact that childhood separation anxiety may be a risk factor for adulthood anxiety (e.g. adult separation anxiety, panic disorder) and psychological disorders except for anxiety (e.g. major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder). In this study, we aim to research whether there is a relationship between separation anxiety, which we encounter commonly in childhood, and adulthood anxiety disorders or not. Materials and Methods: 311 participants aged between 18-35 years and who have no mental illnesses were involved in this study. Statistical analyses were performed in accordance to completion of the study with 311 participants responding properly to a questionnaire form compiling sociodemographic data prepared by ourselves, Separation Anxiety Symptoms Inventory, Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire, State Anxiety Inventory (STAI FORM-1) and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI FORM-2). Results: According to the data acquired in our study, it is seen that 123 of 166 subjects (74.09 %) corresponding to the symptoms of childhood separation anxiety also continue to have the symptoms of separation anxiety in adulthood. 43 (13.03 %) of the participants have been detected to have only high childhood and 42 (12.7 %) of the participants to have only high adulthood separation anxiety score. Chronic anxiety scores have been found out to be high statistically in the subjects with high scores of childhood separation anxiety (F= 46.21, p<0.001, Adjusted R2= 0.13). Both situational and chronic anxiety scores have been out to be high statistically in the subjects with high scores of adult separation anxiety (F=46.50, p<0.001, Adjusted R2= 0.23). Conclusions and recommendations: Being highly related to adulthood separation anxiety, childhood separation anxiety may be also seen in adulthood independent from adulthood separation anxiety. Childhood separation anxiety is a significant risk factor for chronic anxiety. Adulthood separation anxiety newly embarking into classification systems is taken into consideration in terms of being a possible presentation of susceptibility of this category to anxiety due to its relation to situational and chronic anxiety. Owing to the fact that there are few studies in this field and various results have been reached in our country, further monitoring studies which will be performed with a larger number of samplings is needed. Keywords: separation anxiety, chronic anxiety, state anxiety