What Is Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder

Almost everyone has heard of separation anxiety disorder by now, and they typically associate it with children, juveniles and pets. Although separation anxiety is most often seen in children, it is possible (but rare) to occur during adulthood. Children who have been diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder can have their symptoms persist into adulthood, and adults can develop such symptoms as well. In both cases, this is known as adult separation anxiety disorder or ASAD.

The base symptoms of separation anxiety are excessive and sometimes debilitating distress when confronted with perceived or actual separation from most important figures in their lives. However, there are differences in separation anxiety disorder and adult separation anxiety disorder. ASAD is a mental state in which an adult feels excessive anxiety with regard to separation from people or places the person has a drastic emotional attachment to. The attachment is typically to a spouse, lover or friend. Separation anxiety is actually a healthy stage of development in infants. The separation anxiety usually declines around the age of 13 months to 15 months. When separation anxiety is experienced out of the infant stage of development, it is not healthy.

Although adult separation anxiety disorder is one of the more recent disorders labeled, there have been studies and research done on this ailment. Manicavasagar, a researcher, has found that people with ASAD tend to have an obtrusive need for approval and a preoccupation with relationship attachment styles. Katherine Shear performed a study with her colleagues on ASAD in 2006, which included thousands of people who had participated in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Their study found that about 4.1% children had separation anxiety disorder, while 6.6% of adults had adult separation anxiety disorder.

Another interesting finding is that only 36.1% of adults with ASAD had childhood SAD. The majority of adults with ASAD, on the other hand, had their first occurrence of unhealthy separation anxiety during their adult lives. ASAD is also more common in women than men. Manicavasagar also found that adult separation anxiety disorder tends to run in the family. About 63% of children who were diagnosed with SAD had at least one parent suffering from ASAD.

Surprisingly, education seems to play a significant part in an adult's possibility of developing ASAD. People with fewer years of education have higher chances of suffering from ASAD than those who have more years of education under their belt. The chances of not being married seems to be higher among people who have either suffered from childhood SAD or ASAD. Those who have been divorced, widowed, or separated are at the highest risk. In second place are people who have never been married. In last place are those who are currently married or cohabiting.

Many people who have ASAD are either unemployed or employed in a non-traditional manner. However, it is not known whether having ASAD is the cause of unemployment or if unemployment triggered the ASAD. A person with ASAD suffers from continuous worrying, fear, distress, and sleep disturbances. The person who is the subject of attachment, such as a friend, parent or lover, also suffers from the neediness, clinginess and drama of the person with ASAD. Adult separation anxiety disorder is extremely difficult on relationships and can even lead to breakups and divorce.

ASAD can be triggered by the death of a loved one, divorce, marital separation and even a relationship on the rocks. There are even some cases in which a parent may develop ASAD as his or her child becomes more independent. ASAD is a serious disorder that can have drastic impacts on a person's social life and important relationships. It may not be as heard of as other mental ailments, but is just as serious and should not be taken lightly. It has been found that those who are unemployed or hold an un-traditional job, have never been married or are widowed or divorced, and have a lower level of education, are greatly more susceptible to developing ASAD. If you or someone you know may be suffering from adult separation anxiety disorder, it is important to get professional help and the right separation anxiety treatment, so that your lives can return to normal once again.

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