Separation Anxiety Disorder: Is There a Justification for a Distinct Diagnostic Category?

Abstract

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a diagnostic category included in the group of anxiety disorders within DSM 5. Within ICD 10, SAD is in the group of disorders that occur only in childhood but the proposition of ICD 11 classifies SAD as a part of anxiety disorders, similarly to DSM 5. Although there are studies of the prevalence and most significant psychopathological phenomena that characterize SAD, there is still a distinctive lack of knowledge about this disorder like: its prevalence in the general and clinical population, its relation with other psychiatric disorders, or what is an effective therapeutic approaches to treating adults with this disorder. Some outstanding questions remain and there are no clear answers so far regarding the differentiation of “normality” and pathology related to the SAD, like: (1) is a strong relationship between family members the consequence of specific cultural and social patterns or a pathological pattern that indicates SAD?, or (2) are the pain and suffering resulting from separation from loved ones after wars, natural or other disasters “normal”/common/expected or are they psychopathological manifestations of SAD?, etc. In order to clearly identify SAD as an unambiguous psychopathological category, it is necessary to answer these questions in detail. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.