# Relationships between depersonalization-derealization symptoms and separation anxiety in adult patients with mood and anxiety disorders

## TL;DR

The study finds that adult patients with mood and anxiety disorders who have high separation anxiety also experience more severe depersonalization-derealization symptoms and higher suicidality.

## Contribution

The study establishes a novel link between separation anxiety and depersonalization-derealization symptoms in mood and anxiety disorders.

## Key findings

- Patients with high separation anxiety scored significantly higher on all depersonalization-derealization scales.
- Derealization was significantly correlated with suicidal ideation and overall suicidality.
- Auto-psychic depersonalization significantly affected both suicidality and depression.

## Abstract

To establish the relationship between depersonalization/derealization symptoms (DPs), as assessed by different standardized DP scales, and separation anxiety in a sample of outpatients with anxiety and mood disorders as a primary diagnosis (n=156). We hypothesized that patients with high levels of separation anxiety had more frequent, severe, and clinically relevant DP symptoms than those with low levels of separation anxiety.

A consecutive sample of 156 outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders was evaluated by the Structured Clinical Interview for Derealization/Depersonalization Spectrum (SCI-DER), the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS), the Body Sensation Questionnaire (BSQ), the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES), the Panic/Agoraphobic Questionnaire-self report (PAS-SR) for the evaluation of separation anxiety.

The sample was dichotomized into a group with high levels of separation anxiety (3 or more DSM-IV diagnostic items endorsed) vs. those with low levels of separation anxiety (less than 3 items endorsed) by PAS-SR ‘Separation Anxiety’ domain scoring. Patients with high separation anxiety scored significantly higher in all DPs scales compared to the low-separation anxiety group. Derealization was significantly correlated with suicidal ideation (p<.001) and overall suicidality (p<.01). Auto-psychic depersonalization, intended as the feeling unfamiliarity of the self in terms of sensation of being an outside observer of one’s mental process, appeared to exert a significant effect on both suicidality (p<.01) and depression (p<.01).

Our findings highlight a link between separation anxiety and DP symptoms. This connection contributes to understanding and evaluating suicidality in individuals with mood and anxiety disorders.