3% had no comorbid condition while the rest (15.7%) had atleast one comorbid condition. These subjects also showed a higher SASI score (p = .053). The subgroup with comorbid condition also showed a history of early onset (p < .01) and poor recovery of global functioning (p < .05) when compared to the non-comorbid group. Female subjects also showed higher SASI score (p < .05). This study clearly shows a positive association between childhood separation anxiety disorder and the onset of co morbid psychological conditions in adult life. Particularly, women with childhood separation anxiety disorder were more prone to develop a continuum of disorders in adult life. [Akira et.al, 2006]
A more recent study by Karlovec et.al (2008) followed 10 Austrian students who had a previous history of separation anxiety and school refusal. All the subjects in the study had undergone 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy at the Innsbruck Medical University, Austria, as treatment for separation anxiety disorder. During this follow-up study, the children were aged between 9 to 14 years. The study involved a series of interviews with the parent and the children pertaining to the history of separation anxiety and school refusal. The subjects were evaluated for separation anxiety and other psychiatric disorders using the 'Diagnostic Interview for Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents' based on the DSM-IV criteria. Analysis of the gathered data revealed that the cognitive behavioral therapy was successful in overcoming school refusal among the students with only one subject continuing to exhibit symptoms of school refusal. However, the results of the study also indicated that all the subjects had atleast 2 psychiatric conditions (based on the DSM -- IV criteria), with some students having 3, 4 or 5 co morbid disorders. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (N=6), oppositional defiant disorder (N =4) and agoraphobia (N=3) and obsessive compulsive disorder (N=3) were the other psychiatric co morbid conditions. Overall, 3 subjects were totally recovered while 6 others were in partial remission. This study suggests that children who are school refusers and diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder are at a greater risk for developing other co morbid psychiatric disorders. The study also indicated that children who are successfully treated for separation anxiety might require further monitoring and intervention for other possible psychiatric conditions. [Karlovec et.al, 2008]
Lewinsohn et.al (2008) is another research that studied the predisposition of children diagnosed with SAD at childhood for other psychiatric disorders during adolescence and adulthood. Subjects were chosen from the Oregon Adolescent Depression Project (n = 816). This was a longitudinal study where the subjects were screened for childhood history of SAD, current mental illnesses (at 16 years of age) and followed up into adulthood up to the age of 30. The subjects were assessed twice during adolescence and the diagnostic assessments were repeated again at 24 and 30 years of age respectively. The subjects were divided into four groups SAD (n = 42), other psychiatric disorders (n = 88), 'heterogeneous psychiatric disorders control group' (n = 389) and a control group without any mental disorders (n= 297). Statistical analysis of the data using multiple logistic regression revealed that SAD was a high risk factor (78.6%)for developing other psychiatric conditions. In particular, children with SAD had a high propensity for developing depression and panic attack in their adolescent and adult lives. The results of this study again emphasize the importance of treating SAD promptly not only for its remission but also for its effectiveness in controlling the development of future psychopathology. [Lewinsohn et.al (2008)]
Treatment of SAD
The effective management of SAD involves a multimodal treatment that involves cognitive behavioral therapy, family based therapy and pharmacological therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is singled out as the best intervention for SAD. Studies have shown significant drop in truancy rates with as much as 83% of the subjects who underwent the therapy successfully...
Separation Anxiety Disorder is an anxiety disorder strongly connected to the idea of attachment relationship. This condition is typically associated with childhood diagnosis, as children are more vulnerable to suffering from it. Even with this, separation anxiety disorder is also likely to occur in adults who are separated from home or from individuals to whom they have a strong emotional attachment. Individuals with separation anxiety disorder are probable to put
Separation Anxiety and Separation Anxiety Disorder, also known as SAD, are an acute distress that first occurs in children beginning in the first six to eight months of life (Weiten, 2005). Usually a parent will begin to notice changes in their infant when a usually confident child will show signs of distress when separated from an attachment figure, such as their mother or caregiver (Oltmanns, & Emery, 2010). Normal separation
Relationships provide the key experience that connects children's personal and social worlds. It is within the dynamic interplay between these two worlds that minds form and personalities grow, behavior evolves and social competence begins." (1999) Howe relates that it is being acknowledged increasingly that "...psychologically, the individual cannot be understood independently of his or her social and cultural context. The infant dos not enter the world as a priori
According to Perwien & Bernstein (2004), the results of the Kendall study indicated that those children who had received the CBT treatments showed a decrease in anxiety related symptoms and an increase in coping abilities. The results held strong during the three-year follow-up period as well. Another therapeutic approach to Separation Anxiety Disorder in children is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). REBT is a highly direct, action-oriented model for assessing problems
Mary Ainsworth, conveyed Bowlby's theory to the United States and came up with a technique of examining infant attachment. In her book, she talks about this extensively utilized procedure, the bizarre condition, and the outlines of protected and apprehensive attachment. In the beginning three outlines were looked at, protected, nervous avoidant, and nervous ambivalent, but later on Mary Main and Judith Solomon at the University of California in Berkeley came
Abstract Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) causes significant impairment in kindergarten studies, social functioning, and family relations among children. This paper is a case study of SAD in an eight-year-old African-American female child, named Chloe, under foster care. The paper includes an annotated bibliography and an evidence-based model recommending cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the given case. The research question for this paper is: how effective is CBT in the treatment of
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