Separation Anxiety

Children often have strong anxious feelings when their parents aren't in the immediate vicinity - but most quickly learn that Dad and Mom aren't gone forever.  Some children are less fortunate, and when a small child experiences a catastrophic loss of a loved one - parent, sibling -  the "lesson" can be totally debilitating if it passes unchecked into adulthood.

See also:
https://www.academia.edu/41948393/I_Want_My_Mother_A_Quick_Guide_to_Separation_Anxiety_-_Roy_Waidler

Children are not just 'small adults'. They have specific physical, psychological and social requirements that must be identified and addressed to optimise their well-being in the perioperative period. The healthcare practitioner should be trained to understand the needs of the paediatric patient in hospital, including the ever increasing need to take into account cultural differences. Hospital policy should include a preoperative preparation programme, specially aimed at the paediatric population, where parental involvement is encouraged throughout.

Children with anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity, and disruptive behaviour disorders are frequently seen in general practice and often present with somatic complaints, comorbidity and complex family relationships. This article presents an approach to assessment including useful clinical questions, case diagnostic criteria and recommendations on psychometric tools for general practice. Key management principles including psychological and pharmacological approaches are outlined, and a multidisciplinary approach incorporating specialist care is recommended.

This study examined the internal consistency and construct validity of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale for Children in a non-clinical Italian sample of 358 children ages 6 to 10 years. Statistically significant differences were examined by sex and age. Two exploratory factor analyses were carried out: (a) on the symptom sub-dimensions which led to three interpretable factors of Fear of Abandonment and of Physical Illness, Fear of Calamitous Events, Fear of Being Alone and (b) on all Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale for Children items, which led to three interpretable factors: Fear of Abandonment and Safety Signals, Fear of Calamitous Events, and Fear of Being Alone and Left Alone. Preliminary findings for validity were described with the Separation Anxiety Symptoms Inventory for Children and the Italian Fear Schedule for Children (convergent validity). Implications regarding the clinical utility of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale for Children are discussed.

Few longitudinal studies of child and adolescent psychopathology have examined the links between specific childhood anxiety disorders and adolescent psychiatric disorder. In this paper we test the predictive specificity of separation anxiety disorder (SAD), overanxious disorder (OAD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and social phobia.

In the current study we tested whether the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) genotype moderates the association of experienced parental problems during childhood (e.g., parental depression, marital discord) with unresolved loss or trauma during the Adult Attachment Interview. To test the specificity of this moderation the role of the serotonin transporter gene promoter (5-HTTLPR) was also examined. Subjects were 124 adopted adults (mean age 39 years). Participants with the DRD4-7 repeat (7R) allele who experienced parental problems had the highest scores for unresolved loss or trauma whereas participants with DRD4-7R who did not experience parental problems showed the lowest ratings. Among participants without DRD4-7R, the parental problems during childhood did not make a difference. 5-HTTLPR did not moderate the relation between parental problems and unresolved loss or trauma. Our study shows heightened susceptibility to environmental influences for carriers of the DRD4-7R allele, and suggests that the interplay between specific dopamine-related genes and family contexts leads to more or less successful coping with adverse childhood experiences.

“The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from
being a rare and curious phenomenon, is the central and inevitable fact of human
existence.”
                        Thomas Wolfe

A psychoanalytic look at aspects of Loneliness, with an emphasis on internal factors, further to those described by Melanie Klein, is presented. In particular, importance is given to Paternal Reverie as compared with Bion's concept of Maternal Reverie. Examples from literature and the TV series The West Wing are given, along with a brief clinical example.

Starting from a contemporary critique of the DSM-IV, this paper argues that the diagnostic categories of panic disorder somatization, and undifferentiated somatoform disorders can be understood as belonging to a common type of psychopathology--i.e., the Freudian actual neuroses. In addition to their strong clinical similarity, these disorders share an etiological similarity; and the authors propose a combination of Freud's focus on this type of patient's inability to represent an endogenous drive arousal with the post-Freudian focus on separation anxiety. An etiological hypothesis is put forward based on contemporary psychoanalytic attachment theory, highlighting mentalization. Concrete implications for a psychoanalytically based treatment are proposed.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived-experiences of male public school kindergarten teachers in Antipolo City. The theories guiding this study were The Experiential Model Theory (1970), Emotional Intelligences Theory (1995) the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (1978). The study followed the theory and methods of the phenomenological research model proposed by Giorgi (2009) that allowed informants to provide personal perspectives and reflections on their experiences. The following three research questions guided the study: 1) What are the lived-experiences of male public school kindergarten teacher in Antipolo City emotionally, socially and mentally 2) What are the characteristics of male public school kindergarten teachers in Antipolo City? 3) What are the duties and responsibilities of male kindergarten teachers in Antipolo City? Interviews were conducted to gather perceptive data from co-researchers were transcribed, examined, coded and broken down into themes taken from the emerging responses throughout the research process. The themes identified are based on the distinct emotional experiences of male public school kindergarten teachers in Antipolo City were emotions and feelings, separation anxiety and tantrums, toilet training and parents’ reaction. Identified theme based on the distinct social experiences was interaction with others. Identified themes based on the distinct mental experiences were teacher’s disposition and rewarding experiences. Identified themes based on the characterization of male kindergarten teachers were patience, resourceful, passionate and parent surrogate. Identified themes based on the reflection of duties and responsibilities of male kindergarten teachers were goal as motivator and kindergarten: Foundation of Learning. The findings of this study may help teachers in improving the teaching styles, strategies and knowledge of kindergarten teachers. It may also help newly hired teachers either male or female to prepare themselves in the upcoming situation that they would be encountering.

Dismissing-avoidant adults are characterized by expressing relatively low levels of attachment-related distress. However, it is unclear whether this reflects a relative absence of covert distress or an attempt to conceal covert distress. Two experiments were conducted to distinguish between these competing explanations. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to suppression resulted in a decrease in the accessibility of abandonment-related thoughts for dismissing-avoidant adults. Experiment 2 demonstrated that attempts to suppress the attachment system resulted in decreases in physiological arousal for dismissing-avoidant adults. These experiments indicate that dismissing-avoidant adults are capable of suppressing the latent activation of their attachment system and are not simply concealing latent distress. The discussion focuses on development, cognitive, and social factors that may promote detachment.

Özet

Mahler kuramında, ayrılma ve bireyleşme sürecini dört evrede gözlemlemiş ve bu evreleri farklılaşma, alıştırma, yeniden yaklaşma ve libidinal nesne sürekliliği olarak isimlendirmiştir. Bu yazının amacı, Mahler'in kuramı ve çeşitli literatür bulguları ile desteklenerek bir vakanın değerlendirilmesidir. Araştırmalar anne ile ilişkide, bebeğin ayrılma kaygısı yaşamasının adaptif ve evrensel bir fenomen olduğunu göstermektedir. Öte yandan bebeğin erken dönemde gelişimsel olarak uygun olmayan seviyede kaygı hissettiği durumlarda kaygının patolojik özellikler gösterebildiği belirtilmiştir. Bu bağlamda çocukluk dönemindeki ayrılma kaygısının zaman zaman yetişkinlik döneminde kendisini farklı biçimlerde (örn; sosyal fobi, bağımlı kişilik bozukluğu, vb.) gösterdiği bilinmektedir. Vaka olarak seçilen A Hanım, 22 yaşında ve panik bozukluk tanısı olan bir üniversite öğrencisidir. Kuram ve literatür bilgileri perspektifinden, A Hanım'ın ayrılma ve bireyleşme sürecinin annesi ile ilişkisi odağında ele alınması hedeflenmiştir. Bu bağlamda A Hanım'ın panik ataklarının, ayrılma ve bireyleşme sürecine ilişkin yaşadığı çatışmalar ile ilişkili olduğu, annesi ve kendi ihtiyaçlarının çatışmasından doğan gerilimleri rahatlatmaya yönelik bir işlevi olduğu düşünülmüştür.


Abstract

According to Mahler’s theory, the separation and individuation process can be observed in four phases, namely, differentiation, practicing, repproachment and libidinal object constancy. Current paper’s purpose was to reconceptualization of a case within the perspective of Mahler’s and previous literature findings. Research revealed that it is adaptive and universal phenomenon to experience separation anxiety for the baby. However, when the baby is exposed to frustration with  developmentally inappropriate levels of anxiety, it was said that anxiety may have pathological manifestations. That is, it is known that more or less everyone experiences separation anxiety; but that some of these anxieties manifest itself differentially (i.e., social phobia, dependent personality disorder, etc.) in adulthood. In this sense, Miss A was chosenfor case report. Miss A was a 22-year-old university student with diagnosis of panic disorder. It was aimed to consider Miss A’s separation-individuation process based upon the focus of her mother-child relationship within the perspective of Mahler’s and literature findings. Within this context, it was thought that Miss A’s panic attacks could be related to the conflicts and serve a function to comfort the resultant stress rooted from turning between her and her mother’s needs.

Keywords: Separation anxiety, separation, individuation, Mahler, case