Separation anxiety disorder

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Separation anxiety disorder involves persistent, intense anxiety about being away from home or being separated from people to whom a child is attached, usually the mother.

Most children feel some separation anxiety but usually grow out of it.
Children with separation anxiety disorder often cry and plead with the person who is leaving and, after the person leaves, think only about being reunited.
Doctors base the diagnosis on symptoms and their duration.
Behavioral therapy is usually effective, and individual and family psychotherapy may help.
Treatment aims to enable children to return to school as soon as possible.

(See also Overview of Anxiety Disorders in Children.)
Some degree of separation anxiety is normal and occurs in almost all children, especially in very young children. Children feel it when a person to whom they are attached leaves. That person is usually the mother, but it can be either parent or another caregiver. The anxiety typically stops as children learn that the person will return. In separation anxiety disorder, the anxiety is much more intense and goes beyond that expected for the child’s age and developmental level. Separation anxiety disorder commonly occurs in younger children and is rare after puberty.
Some life stress, such as the death of a relative, friend, or pet or a geographic move or a change in schools, may trigger separation anxiety disorder. Also, people can inherit a tendency to feel anxiety.