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Prevalence, Comorbidity and Predictor of Separation Anxiety Disorder in Children and Adolescents

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Abstract

Separation Anxiety Disorder(SAD) is one of the earliest anxiety disorders. The effect of this disorder on the performance of children and adolescents reveals the need for awareness of the prevalence and comorbidity of this disorder in each region. This study is a cross-sectional analytical study implemented in all provinces of Iran. The instrument used in this study is the Persian version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version(K-SADA-PL) questionnaire. The total number of participants was 29,699. The overall prevalence of SAD was 5.3%. The comorbidity rate of 65.3% was found between SAD and other psychiatric disorders. Specific phobia and oppositional defiant disorder had the highest comorbidity with this disorder in the studied population. The more prevalence of separation anxiety disorder in the age range of 6–9 years old highlights the need for early detection of this disorder and targeting screening programs in childhood and adolescence.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all participants in the study, including children and adolescents, and their families. Also, we thank all the performers of this study, who have done this study with high precision.

Furthermore, we would like to thank the National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD; grant number: 940906) for the financial and non-financial support they have provided for this study.

Funding

We would like to thank the National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD; grant number:940906) for the financial and non-financial support they have provided for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Rahim Badrfam, Ali Khaleghi & Zahra Hooshyari

  2. Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    Nastaran Ahmadi

  3. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

    Atefeh Zandifar

Authors
  1. Mohammad Reza Mohammadi
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  2. Rahim Badrfam
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  3. Ali Khaleghi
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  4. Zahra Hooshyari
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  6. Atefeh Zandifar
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Correspondence to Rahim Badrfam.

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Mohammadi, M.R., Badrfam, R., Khaleghi, A. et al. Prevalence, Comorbidity and Predictor of Separation Anxiety Disorder in Children and Adolescents. Psychiatr Q 91, 1415–1429 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09778-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09778-7

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