Saxena 1

Pankhuri Saxena

Professor Hellmers

English Composition II

24 April 2022

What Factors Causes and Effects Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD)?

For many people, there has been a point in life where they dealt with numerous emotions.

One of the emotions which they may have faced is separation anxiety: people are afraid to leave

one another alone. There have been several studies proving what causes and effects comes with

having separation anxiety. The contributing factors that cause separation anxiety are different for

the age and gender groups ranging from biological, personal and surroundings. The effects of

separation anxiety results in fear of separation, emotional distress, and social withdrawal.

A scientific cause which explains SAD is in which a chemical imbalance involving two

chemicals in the brain (norepinephrine and serotonin) contributes to the cause of anxiety

disorders (Wagner). The word, separation anxiety was discovered by the psychologist, John

Bowlby. He was a British psychologist, who wanted to learn more attachment theory. The theory

questioned why children experienced distress when their significant other or primary caregiver

left the room. It was initially theorized that the attachment was a learned behavior instead of a

genuine reaction. One of the websites, Verywell Mind states, “... Bowlby observed is that even

feedings did not diminish the anxiety experienced by children when they were separated from

their primary caregivers. Instead, he found that attachment was characterized by clear behavioral

and motivation patterns” (Cherry). A further explanation for this conclusion was that children,
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when separated from their primary caregivers, seek comfort and care which makes them feel

protected and have a sense of security around their loved ones.

There are plenty of reasons which cause and effects separation anxiety. The one which

will be discussed is biological factors and this can lead to fear of separation. There is a concept

which remarks that any type of anxiety or disease can be inherited through the parents either

during or after birth. A source by Life Stance Health reads, “While a child or adolescent may

have inherited a biological tendency to be anxious, anxiety and fear can also be learned from

family members and others who frequently display increased anxiety around the child”

(Wagner). This explains that the causes of the disorder can be transferred through genes or DNA,

and it can be possible to give any disease through transmission of cells.

The effects which come along with SAD is fear of separation. There has been a study

done in which children and adolescents were given a questionnaire. The survey had a scale with

certain options to choose from: 1) never, 2) sometimes, 3) most of the time and 4) all the time.

The score was determined by taking a sum of all the types of fears that come along with SAD.

The results showed that, “22.2% of children and adolescents with SAD refuse to go to school due

to fear of separation” (Méndez). This proves that SAD has a correlation with the fear of

separation, this may not be a prominent reason, but it does verify the results of the study.
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Fig 1: Shows Correlation coefficients of the Children's Separation Anxiety Scale (CSAS) with

other self-reports (García-Fernández).

The second reason which causes separation anxiety is due to personal issues or situations.

Personal issues can include family dysfunctionality or parental loss. The place where a person

grew up is very crucial to remain positive and as stable as possible. This is due to having a

change in life can make a person’s life unpredictable which can cause for unsettled/ disturbed

life. The National Library of Medicine claims, “Having a diagnosis of SAD can cause strain on

familial relationships, including parents of children diagnosed with SAD or children and partners of

diagnosed adults”(Feriante). Some of the strains included are:

 One child receives undue attention at the expense of siblings.

 Partner displeasure about the child's excessive attention

 Self-efficacy as a parent is low.

 Increased anxiety in parents of children with significant symptoms

Having a stable and understanding relationship with their families or loved ones can help a person

with SAD calm himself/herself.

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The effect which relates to personal issues is emotional distress. It is expressed in a few of

the sources that separation anxiety is due to having preliminary anxiety and other emotional

disorders which eventually build up. Some of the disorders include having post-traumatic stress,

anxiety, prolonged grief, emotional or personality disorders (Ruiz-Garcia). Studies show that

43% of people have been informed of the beginning of SAD during their adulthood and it is

important to get help to prevent them from feeling alone or disoriented.

The third reason which leads to separation anxiety is caused by a person’s surroundings.

Environmental factors play a crucial role in how a person may feel or react. For example, if a

person is around friends who are not a good influence, it will result in the person to be more

likely to follow their habits. The same can be said for separation anxiety. One of the sources

states, “Environmental factor frequently cited in the development of childhood anxiety is

parenting behavior. Low parental warmth and parenting behaviors that discourage autonomy are

associated with the development of anxiety and other childhood difficulties. Research in

developmental psychology and attachment theory has consistently found that insecure or anxious

attachment styles also serve as risk factors for various forms of emotional disturbance and

psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and behavior problems” (Ehrenreich). This

shows that whatever affection or emotions a person shows it can be seen in the other person’s

behavior.

The effect which is connected to environmental factors is social withdrawal. People who

have SAD can often have panic and anxiety attacks when their close ones are away from them.

This causes people with SAD to keep themselves away from large crowds or events which may

result in them having all kinds of attacks. Social withdrawal is a perfect way for people to stay

away from things like these to avoid any emotional distress or feeling overwhelmed.
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People may wonder if there is a correlation between genders, ages, and separation

anxiety. Yes, there is. More women are likely to get separation anxiety and that may be due their

financial stability or the experiences they have had (Ruiz-Garcia). Women do tend to get

separation anxiety more often than men and that is mostly due to their financial status. People

who come in the low socioeconomic status tend to face SAD. One of the sources states,

“Between 50–75% of children with separation anxiety come from homes with a low

socioeconomic status” (Hull). Moving on, people’s ages do play a role in having SAD. By

looking at the statistics, a third of the diagnoses during childhood continued during adulthood.

Separation Anxiety is most common in kids from ages 1 - 6 old. This is the result as adults

recently started being diagnosed with SAD.

There are treatments for SAD, it is 96% of children with SAD who were referred for

treatment were free from the disorder when re-evaluated 3-4 years later (Cai). These treatments

may include cognitive behavioral therapy and focus on things which may cause anxiety. A

person can visit a therapist/psychologist to get their feelings validated and make them feel better

about the issue they are facing.

Some people may argue that people who have separation anxiety need constant attention

and it normally happens to children. This is not true, people with SAD do require little attention

when around their loved one or primary caregivers. This is a common misconception. Children

do have SAD, but many adults who have separation anxiety disorder did not have it as children.

Adult cases accounted for more than 70% of all cases. One of the sources to support the answer

states, “prevalence of adult separation anxiety disorder (6.6%) was higher than the estimated

lifetime prevalence of childhood separation anxiety disorder” (Katherine Shear).

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Separation anxiety is caused by biological, personal, and environmental factors, and the

symptoms include fear of separation, emotional anguish, and social disengagement. As always,

to help find out what causes someone to act out or feel a certain way try to be understanding and

listen to them. This can show a huge connection is feeling less anxious and may clear the

intentions of someone doing these actions.

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Works Cited
Cai, Yan, et al. “Development of a Computerized Adaptive Test for Separation Anxiety Disorder

among Adolescents.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 18 July 2020,

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01077/full#:~:text=Introduction-,

Separation%20anxiety%20disorder%20(SAD)%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most

%20common,as%20well%20as%20among%20some.

Cherry, Kendra. “How Attachment Theory Works.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 17 July

2019, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-attachment-theory-2795337.

Ehrenreich, Jill T, et al. “Separation Anxiety Disorder in Youth: Phenomenology, Assessment,

and Treatment.” Psicologia Conductual, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 2008,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2788956/#:~:text=Research%20suggests

%20that%204.1%25%20of,%2C%20%26%20Kessler%2C%202006).

Feriante, Joshua. “Separation Anxiety - Statpearls - NCBI Bookshelf.” National Library of

Medicine, 26 July 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560793/.

Hull, Megan. “Separation Anxiety Facts & Statistics: The Recovery Village.” The Recovery

Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab, The Recovery Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab, 19 Apr.

2021, https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/separation-anxiety/separation-

anxiety-statistics/#:~:text=Separation%20Anxiety%20in%20Adults,-Separation
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%20anxiety%20is&text=Some%20studies%20have%20estimated%20that,have

%20experienced%20a%20traumatic%20event.

Katherine Shear M.D.Robert Jin M.A.Ayelet Meron Ruscio Ph.D. Ellen E. Walters M.S.Ronald

C. Kessler Ph.D., et al. “Prevalence and Correlates of Estimated DSM-IV Child and Adult

Separation Anxiety Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.” American

Journal of Psychiatry, 1 June 2006,

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.6.1074?url_ver=Z39.88-

2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed.

Méndez, Xavier, et al. “Children's Separation Anxiety Scale (CSAS): Psychometric Properties.”

PLOS ONE, vol. 9, no. 7, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103212.

Ruiz-García, Antonio, et al. “Portuguese Validation of the Adult Separation Anxiety—

Questionnaire (ASA-27).” PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 3, 2021,

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248149.

Wagner, Daniel. “Separation Anxiety.” Child & Family Psychological Services, 25 June 2019,

https://www.cfpsych.org/condition/separation-anxiety/.