Adult Separation Anxiety and TCI-R Personality Dimensions in Patients with Anxiety, Alcohol Use, and Gambling: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD) is an established diagnostic category but is little investigated in subjects with addictive behaviours. OBJECTIVE: To assess the presence of ASAD among patients with addictive disorders in comparison with anxiety patients and measure the personality correlates in all these groups. METHODS: 103 outpatients, meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for anxiety disorders (38 patients), alcohol dependence (30 patients), or pathological gambling (35 patients), were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS) and the Adult Separation Anxiety Checklist (ASA-27) for separation anxiety and by the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R) for personality characteristics. RESULTS: ASAD is detected in 34.2% of anxiety patients, 13.3% of alcoholics, and 11.4% of gamblers. Separation anxiety scores correlate positively with harm avoidance and negatively with self-directedness in all groups; further correlations are seen among addictive patients only, that is, self-transcendence for gamblers and cooperativeness for both alcoholics and gamblers. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ASAD is lower among addictive patients than in those with anxiety disorders; correlations are found between separation anxiety and specific TCI-R dimensions, with some matching across the three diagnostic groups.