What is Separation Anxiety Disorder?
Separation Anxiety Disorder , also known as Separation Anxiety Disorder, is an anxiety disorder that is not appropriate for the person’s development process and causes intense stress and fear in the person even when thinking about separation from the person they are attached to (mother, father, a close family member, etc.). Ankara Psychiatry Center: https://www.erdempsikiyatri.com/ , which can be considered as symptoms of separation anxiety, determines whether or not a person is diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder by having at least 3 of the following symptoms constantly or mostly:
❖ A person experiences intense and persistent stress when he thinks about or experiences separation from home or the person he is attached to.
❖ The person often thinks about the possibility of illness, injury, accident or death of the person he is attached to and feels intense anxiety about this.
❖ The person often thinks about the possibilities of being kidnapped, getting sick, or having an accident, which may cause separation from the person to whom he or she is attached, and feels intense anxiety about these issues
. ❖ The person constantly refuses to leave the house or goes to school or work due to the fear of separation, or is very reluctant in these matters.
❖ The person experiences a constant and intense fear of being alone or away from the person to whom he or she is attached, and acts reluctantly in these matters.
❖ The person refuses to sleep apart from the person he or she is attached to or is very reluctant to do so.
❖ Nightmares involving the theme of separation are constantly observed in the person.
❖ The person shows physical symptoms such as headache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting when he/she has to separate from the person he/she is attached to or when he/she thinks about it.
Formation of Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
➢ In order to be diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder, these symptoms are expected to be observed for at least 4 weeks in children and adolescents and for 6 months in adults .
➢ Separation anxiety generally negatively affects the person’s daily life and work-school life. It also causes intense stress and anxiety that negatively affects the person’s life.
➢ Separation anxiety disorder can occur at any age, but is usually observed in childhood and adolescence. However, it is stated that Adult Separation Anxiety disorder, observed after the age of 20, may also be common in society. Therefore, Separation Anxiety Disorder is not a disorder specific to childhood, and separation anxiety that begins in childhood can continue into adulthood (Carmassi et all., ty.).
➢ A case example of separation anxiety disorder can also be seen in adults as having difficulty coping with major changes (moving, getting married, etc.). Also, unlike children, cognitive and emotional symptoms rather than physical symptoms are more common in adults (Carmassi et all., ty.).
➢ Adults with separation anxiety may experience the need to make frequent phone calls to the person they are attached to and the need to establish unchanging, fixed routines in their lives.
➢ Separation anxiety occurs in childhood, usually in school-age children . If your child is preschool;
● If your child has sleeping problems
● If he/she acts more angry and irritable than before
● If he/she is a very well-adjusted child at home but exhibits an introverted or combative attitude at school
● If he/she experiences headaches, nausea, or abdominal pain on the way to school
● If he/she resists not going to school and gets sick on school mornings,
do not leave the child It may be school phobia caused by anxiety. School phobia lasts longer than school fear and causes more intense stress on the child.
➢ Although separation anxiety can be seen in many children, it can be solved with psychiatric or psychological therapy . Untreated separation anxiety disorder may continue in adulthood as panic disorder or predisposition to various mental illnesses (Carmassi et all., ty.).
HOW TO GOVERN THE FEAR OF SEPARATION IN CHILDREN?
Babies are able to survive from the moment they are born; establishes a relationship with the mother to meet its physical, social and emotional needs. This relationship established in the first years is the basis of attachment theory and will determine the nature of the relationship to be established in the following years. The mother’s influence is very important in this aspect. The bond the baby establishes with its mother; It is a safe shelter where one can examine the outside world and return when he feels in danger (Küçüködük 2015). The baby should feel safe and peaceful. The baby shows a number of different reactions when separated from the mother. The most common causes of these reactions are school-related negativities, life events such as the birth of a sibling, the death of a relative, the child’s mother or father being away from home for a long time, and different attachment styles in the mother-child relationship. As a result of the research:
Secure Attachment: Securely attached babies, when viewed from the perspective of the function of the attachment figure, behave as predicted by the theory in terms of maintaining closeness and exploring the environment while feeling safe. Accordingly, the baby who is restless after separation may experience short-term restlessness. He continues to be interested in the environment and play with toys when the mother is not in the room. However, when the mother comes, the baby relaxes and active and active exploration is observed in its behavior. These babies were able to use the mother as a safe base.
Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment: Children with this type of attachment experience intense anxiety and anger towards the mother when the mother is away or unreachable. So much so that they did not communicate with the stranger in the room, nor did they explore the surroundings. It has been observed that babies with this type of attachment style do not calm down easily and their reactions are not obvious when the mother comes into the room. It can be said that the mother’s attitude towards the child’s needs is quite inconsistent and, accordingly, babies develop inconsistent reactions.
Avoidant Attachment: Children with this attachment style easily explored the environment and played with their toys as long as their mothers were with them, but they did not feel uneasy or react to their mothers’ absence in the room. They also avoided establishing relationships with the stranger in the room by only playing with toys. When the mother came back, they did not show any interest in her and did not make contact. They continued to play with their toys (Sümer and Güngör, 1999). When we look at the factors affecting separation anxiety and fear in children; It has been determined that the biggest factor is MOTHER. Parental attitude, mother’s temperament, number of siblings of the child, environment in which the child grows and develops, etc. There are many factors.
Research has shown that the reason why school refusal is more common in boys in our country is the high value given to boys. However, in recent years this perception has lost its importance; It was determined that there was no significant difference between genders in separation anxiety. The absence of this difference is associated with the increase in the education level of mothers.
MOTHER’S TEMPERAMENT
Based on structural, genetic and biological basis; The term used for attitudes and behaviors in relation to how a person does what he does is defined as Temperament (Erermiş et al. 2009). The mother’s feelings of insecurity, pessimism, pessimism, suspiciousness, restlessness and inadequacy in her relationship with the child in relation to her temperamental characteristics negatively affect the attachment process. Additionally, identification may create negativity for the child as an exemplary model. The anxious, pessimistic and pessimistic attitudes of mothers are also reflected in the behavior of their children (Erermiş et al. 2009).
THE SIBLING FACTOR
The level of social emotional adaptation is a determining factor in the formation and elimination of separation anxiety. When the research results were examined, it was seen that the sibling factor mostly affected social harmony positively. Children learn to share (room, toys, furniture, etc.) with their siblings as the number of siblings increases. In this way, skills such as cooperation and cooperation increase, and this improves social skills. However, independent parents have more than one child; The efforts they make for their children’s social development and their own values and attitudes may change. It can be said that the differences in the behavior of developing children are related to the sibling relationships established.
Parents should help the healthy progress of sibling relationships, and sharing, tolerance and respect should always be maintained in the environment. Thus, social-emotional adaptation in children will be easier.
AGE FACTOR
There is an inverse relationship between problem behaviors (fear/anxiety of separation) and the child’s age. Research has shown that separation anxiety decreases as children get older and that there is progress in both their cognitive and language development and social behavior (Özdemir, 2012).
MOTHER’S EDUCATION LEVEL
Although mother’s education level does not have a clear effect on separation anxiety in children, different interactions have been found in studies.
Children’s self-management improves positively as the mother’s education level increases. The child spontaneously performs behaviors such as cleaning, eating, sleeping, dressing, helping with school work and housework, moving, meeting with friends, spending and benefiting money (Güleş, 2004).
In addition, it can be observed that the child’s problem behaviors increase as the mother’s education level increases. It comes to mind that due to longer working hours, one will be able to spend less time with the child and the possibility of being unable to meet some of their needs will increase. Additionally, it was found that parents’ education levels did not affect children’s helping and sharing behaviors.
What to Do as a Parent?
- Parents should improve themselves in child education and parenting skills rather than the education level of mothers.
- In relations between siblings, unity should be ensured without being discriminatory or attitudinal, and the sense of sharing should be reinforced.
- It should not be forgotten that the mother is an important factor in itself. Psychological disorders (anxiety, pessimism, anxiety, fear) in the mother not only affect the child, but the same disorders can also be seen in the child.
- In addition, since the closest role model is the mother, the mother’s temperament should always be positive and affect the child positively.
- Safe attachment of the child should be ensured.
