Award Date

1-1-1996

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Number of Pages

66

Abstract

The present study examined differences in families with a child with no symptoms of separation anxiety, subclinical separation anxiety (1-2 symptoms), and Separation Anxiety Disorder (3 or more symptoms). Specifically, an initial attempt was made to identify variables that may contribute to the development of Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in toddlers. Parents of 60 toddlers were administered the SAD portion of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule to determine if their child met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for SAD. Thirty percent of parents had children with no SAD, 43% had children with subclinical separation anxiety, and 27% of parents had children who met criteria for SAD. Parents completed the Family Environment Scale, the Conners' Parent Rating Scale, and the Social Support Questionnaire-Short Form. Teachers of each child also completed the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale. Results indicated that children with SAD displayed significantly more internalizing behaviors than children with subclinical SAD and children with subclinical SAD displayed significantly higher levels of internalizing behaviors than children without SAD. In general, families of a child with SAD reported higher levels of cohesion than families with a child without SAD, though differences were not significant. Additionally, families of children with SAD did not differ significantly from families of children without SAD with respect to levels of independence, conflict, and number of social supports. Results are discussed with respect to implications for etiology and treatment of SAD in toddlers.

Keywords

Anxiety; Disorder; Separation; Toddlers

Controlled Subject

Clinical psychology; Social psychology; Social psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

1730.56 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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