Fear of Separation

Some children and even some adolescents have such a close relationship with their parents that it hampers them in their everyday lives. Their separation anxiety can manifest itself in various forms: they may refuse to go to school; they may not want to go to their friends? homes without their mother; they may be overwhelmed by feelings of homesickness whenever they go away (to summer camp, for example). Separation anxiety is now recognised as the only emotional disorder that begins at a very young age. It is the most common anxiety disorder among children and adolescents. This book shows how to distinguish between normal and pathological forms of attachment, in order to prevent the onset of more serious disorders: difficulties in social adaptation, mood problems and eating disorders.Daniel Bailly teaches child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Aix-Marseille and heads the department of child psychiatry at the H?pital Sainte Marguerite, Marseille.