Manicavasagar V, Silove D, Curtis J, Wagner R
South Western Sydney Area Health Service, Liverpool, Australia.
J Anxiety Disord. 2000 Jan-Feb;14(1):1-18. doi: 10.1016/s0887-6185(99)00029-8.
The study investigates whether a putative diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder can be identified in adulthood and whether there are continuities between juvenile and adult forms of the disorder. Seventy patients with conventional adult diagnoses of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder attending an anxiety clinic were administered an interview and checklist to assess separation anxiety (SA) symptoms in adulthood. Memories of early SA were assessed using the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI). A subsample (n = 31) was used to calibrate the checklist against assignment to a category of adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) based on the structured interview. In an expanded sample (n = 70), patients assigned to the ASAD category returned statistically higher scores on the SASI, with the severity of juvenile SA symptoms accounting for 33% of the variance of adult SA scores (p < .001). Assignment of subjects to the putative ASAD category was not associated with any conventional adult anxiety diagnosis and symptoms of SA appeared to predate the onset of the other anxiety disorders. One possible explanation for the data is that, in some individuals, early onset separation anxiety disorder may persist into adulthood, but the symptoms may either be overlooked or, alternatively, obscured by secondary features such as panic.
该研究调查了成年期是否能确诊分离焦虑障碍，以及该障碍在青少年和成年期的表现形式之间是否存在连续性。对70名在焦虑症诊所就诊、被传统诊断为惊恐障碍和广泛性焦虑障碍的成年患者进行了访谈，并使用清单来评估其成年期的分离焦虑（SA）症状。采用分离焦虑症状量表（SASI）评估早期SA的记忆情况。一个子样本（n = 31）用于根据结构化访谈将清单校准为成年分离焦虑障碍（ASAD）类别。在一个扩大的样本（n = 70）中，被归类为ASAD的患者在SASI上的得分在统计学上更高，青少年SA症状的严重程度占成年SA得分方差的33%（p <.001）。将受试者归类为假定的ASAD类别与任何传统的成年焦虑症诊断均无关联，且SA症状似乎早于其他焦虑症的发作。这些数据的一个可能解释是，在一些个体中，早发性分离焦虑障碍可能会持续到成年期，但这些症状可能会被忽视，或者被诸如惊恐等继发特征所掩盖。
