Separation Anxiety Disorder Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

What Is Separation Anxiety Disorder?

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a psychological condition in which an individual experiences excessive anxiety regarding separation from home or from people to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (e.g. a parent, caregiver, or siblings).

Some children also develop physical symptoms, such as headaches or stomach aches, at the thought of being separated.

The fear of separation causes great distress to the child and may interfere with the child’s normal activities.

Causes Of Separation Anxiety Disorder:

Although the definite cause is yet unknown, the following factors are thought to play a role:

Separation anxiety disorder is likely to be caused by the combination of genetic and environmental vulnerabilities.
Common in children with family history of anxiety.
Children whose mothers were stressed during pregnancy with them tend to be more at risk for developing this disorder.
Children whose parents are over-protective may be more prone to separationanxiety disorder.

Symptoms Of Separation Anxiety Disorder:

The following symptoms are exhibited:

An unrealistic and lasting worry that something bad will happen to the parent or caregiver if the child leaves
An unrealistic and lasting worry that something bad will happen to the child if he or she leaves the caregiver
Refusal to go to school in order to stay with the caregiver
Refusal to go to sleep without the caregiver being nearby or to sleep away from home
Fear of being alone
Nightmares about being separated
Bed wetting
Complaints of physical symptoms, such as headaches and stomachaches, on school days
Repeated temper tantrums or pleading

Diagnosis Of Separation Anxiety Disorder:

In order to be diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder, one needs to display at least three of the following criteria:

Recurrent excessive distress when anticipating or experiencing separation from home or from major attachment figures
Persistent and excessive worry about losing major attachment figures or about possible harm to them, such as illness, injury, disasters, or death
Persistent and excessive worry about experiencing an untoward event (e.g., getting lost, being kidnapped, having an accident, becoming ill) that causes separation from a major attachment
Persistent reluctance or refusal to go out, away from home, to school, to work, or elsewhere because of fear of separation
Persistent and excessive fear of or reluctance about being alone or without major attachment figures at home or in other settings
Persistent reluctance or refusal to sleep away from home or to go to sleep without being near a major attachment figure
Repeated nightmares involving the theme of separation
Repeated complaints of physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, stomachaches, nausea, vomiting) when separation from major attachment figures occurs or is anticipated