Childhood Separation Anxiety Disorder Among Adults With Adult Anxiety Disorders

Separation anxiety is very common as children grow and develop. They may fear those few moments during daycare drop-off or that initial first meeting with a new babysitter. These children will often times grow out of this anxiety after they become familiar with their surroundings and caregivers. But, if they continue having these separation anxiety induced outbursts, even after they have been with a trusted caregiver for a time, parents and primary caregivers often worry about the well-being of their child and their child’s development. They may believe that their child has acquired a Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD). I selected this topic because I work with multiple toddlers in a center and their parents have expressed some minor worry towards whether or not their child suffers with SAD or if this anxiety is causing them delays. I would love to be able to know some minor details about this broad topic and refer them to the website and articles that I found helpful when writing this report. This topic is important because it is has many symptoms that are similar to regular and developmentally appropriate separation anxiety. When a child suffers from SAD, it is something that needs attention by a pediatric professional in order for it not to affect the child later in life.

Twelve months before attending the agency the client began to demonstrate increasing levels of anxiety. This anxiety commenced with significant difficulties being separated from his mother or father at home, to go to school, stay with family and play with friends. The parents said the client’s behaviours included clinging on to them and chasing after them as they were leaving the house or school. He would also check their location in the house to confirm that they were still there. On occasion his behaviour deteriorated into tantrums, although this only happened at home. The parents also expressed concern that the boy’s teacher noticed he was refusing to eat at school. The parents also reported their child was unable to get to sleep without their presence. He would awaken with nightmares at least three times a week saying he was frightened something bad was happening to them. The parents stated that it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to manage their son’s behaviour.

Children with separation anxiety disorder may be unable to stay or go in a room by themselves and may display "Clinging" behavior, staying close to or "Shadowing" the parent

Separation anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder condition in which a child becomes fearful and nervous when away from home or separated from a loved one usually a parent  whom the child is attached.Separation Anxiety disorder. It commonly occurs in babies between 8 and 12 months old, and usually disappears around age 2.SAD is has approximately 4% to 5% of children suffer from separation anxiety disorder.Anxiety

Separation anxiety is a disorder in which a child becomes excessively anxious when separated from parents. Separation anxiety differs from normal clinginess. Children with the disorder can't think about anything but the present fear of separation. They may have nightmares or regular physical complaints. They may be reluctant to go to school or other places.

The client's primary problem is her physical symptoms like her heart feeling like it is beating outside of her chest, her body trembling and shaking, her shortness of breath, her chest pain and her feeling dizzy. She reported these symptoms come on abruptly and within minutes she feels an intense fear and discomfort. She said these feelings have been recurring for the past forty-five years, since she was 13 years old, when her dad died. She reported having symptoms such as worry and a persistent concern about additional panic attacks, having a heart attack and going crazy for most the day, all day for three months at a time following a panic attack. Her first panic attack was right after her dad died and

* Separation anxiety begins around 4 to 8 months of age. Infants will protest when separated from parents, which can cause considerable anxiety for parents.

There are many factors that possibly cause a child to have separation anxiety disorder. One of the factors is that this diagnosis usually happens after a certain stress in life, such as a loss that involves a death of a relative, immigration, or change of schools (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The DSM-5 (2013) explains that another factor is the parenting style. If a parent is too overprotective on their child, then there is a high possibility that their child might have separation anxiety disorder. Parental intrusiveness, which is the act of the parent taking over a task where the child is trying to do something independently, was proven to be closely linked to the child potentially having a diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Wood, 2006). Also, a study involving a sample of military men found that their mother’s behaviors of overcontrol can be a causal factor to these individuals’ separation anxiety disorder in childhood and their father’s abuse behavior can predict the severity of this disorder (Giotakos & Konstantakopoulos, 2002).

Dogs love to be around their owners. They're sorry to see them leave, and are always happy when they return. The bond a canine feels with his owner makes him unhappy when separated from him. This is normal. Some dogs, however, become especially agitated when they suspect their owners are leaving them. They may loudly vocalize their displeasure, or adopt destructive behaviors that manifest in several ways (e.g. digging, destroying furniture, etc.). This is called separation anxiety.

In this study, Jennifer L. Hudson, Ronald M. Rapee, Heidi J. Lyneham, Lauren F. McLellan, Viviana M. Wuthrich, and Carolyn A. Schniering test the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapies on different types of anxiety. Results from several tests and studies show a 60% recovery rate for children suffering from anxiety disorders. They state that most studies deal with children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, and Social Anxiety Disorder. However, this study covers a more broad range of anxiety disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The study was comprised of 842 seven to fourteen year olds with one or more of the previous mentioned anxiety disorders. The CBTs were

There are three techniques to help with separation anxiety in all dogs. For example my Golden Dox it helped with her(Sophie).There’s also other ways like to leave the radio on so that they think you're there and plus with the pillows or whatever you used will help as well. Or just put a little bit of food/Treats in their kennel so that they can have something to chew or eat. If you let your dog run around the house and just let it do whatever then that helps as well. There are lots of ways but in my opinion the best one is to use old clothes or pillows and blankets. It helps the most because your scent is on the pillows. There’s a lot of other ways to help with separation anxiety

I am very concerned about Christian and the separation anxiety he has when you bring him to school. Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is conceptualized as developmentally inappropriate distress during separation from a significant other (Kossowsky, Wilhelm, Roth, Schneider, 2012). He cries throughout the day, he continually ask when will you be back, and he clings to me all day long. I reassure him that you will return to get him, but that does not make him feel any better. Christian does not like to participate with classroom activities he just says, “I want my mama” or “I want to go home”. I know this is his first time being in school and there is so much for him to take in. I would really like to make Christian as comfortable as possible in the classroom, so with your help I would love to come up with a plan to help alleviate some of his anxiety.

Dog owners who encounter behavioral issues with their pets should educate themselves further on the subject of separation anxiety since this may be a serious issue their dog is facing. Separation anxiety is when a pet panics when left alone and continue panicking until their owner returns. When a dog undergoes this, they may bark and howl, urinate in their crate, possibly injure themselves attempting to breakout of their kennels, or become destructive especially around doorways and windows. Keep in mind, however, not every disturbance is a symptom. An animal suffering from separation anxiety would behave more like the dog described in the following situations. My dog, Bear, is placed in a crate when I’m away from home. One day when I returned,

An Italian study shows some of the findings on children in relation to their age. The study was approved by the Ethical Committee for Psychological Research, parents gave written informed consent to the children’s participation, the children gave verbal consent, and the results were translated for the participants in their language. This study will help us understand if the children are adapting to separation anxiety or if it is continuing. (DI RISO, CHESSA, DELVECCHIO, LIS, & EISEN, 2012).

The method used in this experiment relied on child self-report. One thousand and seventy three adolescents were asked to take surveys. The children in the study were from a secondary school located in the South-Limburg region of the Netherlands. The age of the children ranged from twelve to 18 years; the average age was 14.2. Information on the social and economic backgrounds of the participants was not available, however the staff of the school provided that more than ninety percent of the students are Caucasian. Ninety-five percent of the children agreed to take the surveys after receiving parental consent. The children who agreed to the study completed a series of questions in a naturalistic environment (their classroom). A teacher and a research assistant witnessed the children filling out the surveys. One questionnaire consisted of eighteen questions, and was designed to measure three types of childhood fears; blood/injection, injury, and animal fears. It was scored on an "often, sometimes, never" basis. The second questionnaire consisted of thirty-eight items "that are considered to reflect symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and specific phobias" (Muris, et al., 2001, P. 5). It was scored on an "always, often, sometimes, never" scale. The third questionnaire consisted of twenty-seven questions, and measured