Character and temperament dimensions in patients with adult separation anxiety disorder

Purpose: Separation anxiety disorder which was described as a childhood disorder, has recently been reported that might begin in adulthood or might extend to adulthood. In this study we aimed to determine temperament and character dimensions in patients with adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) compared to patients with panic disorder (PD) and healthy subjects.Method: Thirty five healthy subjects and 121 outpatients who are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder according to DSM IV diagnostic criterias have been recruited. ASAD diagnoses confirmed with Structured Clinical Interview For Seperation Anxiety Symptoms. First patient group comprised ASAD outpatients (N=77) and second patient group included outpatients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (N=44). In addition, within group comparisons according to presence or absence of PD comorbidity in ASAD patient group were carried. In order to determine the presence and severity of ASAD, Structured Clinical Interview for Seperation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS), Adulthood Seperation Anxiety Checklist (ASA), Seperation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI) were used. All participants were also assessed with Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES).Findings: Patients with ASAD scored higher in harm avoidance (HA) temperament dimension and scored lower in self directedness (SD) character dimension compared to PD and control groups. When subscales of harm avoidance were evaluated it?s been detected that all subscale scores (Anticipatory worry, Fear of uncertainity, Shyness and Fatiqability) were significantly higher than controls. While HA scores were not different between ASAD and `ASAD+PD? patient groups, HA scores of both groups? were higher than PD and control groups. Also, SD scores of ASAD group were lower than PD and control groups. and scores of reward dependance temperament dimension and scores of self transcendence character dimension were also higher than the healthy subjects.Conclusion: Similar to other anxiety disorders, HA temperamental dimension was higher and self directedness character dimension was lower in patients with ASAD. It?s important to evaluate the personality features of the patients while planning most suitable treatment and predicting treatment outcome in ASAD as well as other anxiety disorders.Key Words: Adult Seperation Anxiety Disorder, Temperament, Character