Dependent personality, separation anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders in OCD

M M Mroczkowski; F S Goes; M A Riddle; M A Grados; O J Bienvenu; B D Greenberg; A J Fyer; J T McCracken; S L Rauch; D L Murphy; J A Knowles; J Piacentini; B Cullen; S A Rasmussen; D L Pauls; G Nestadt; J Samuels

doi:10.1002/pmh.1321

Dependent personality, separation anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders in OCD

Personal Ment Health. 2016 Feb;10(1):22-8. doi: 10.1002/pmh.1321. Epub 2015 Nov 5.

Authors

M M Mroczkowski¹, F S Goes², M A Riddle², M A Grados², O J Bienvenu², B D Greenberg³, A J Fyer⁴, J T McCracken⁵, S L Rauch⁶, D L Murphy⁷, J A Knowles⁸, J Piacentini⁵, B Cullen², S A Rasmussen³, D L Pauls⁹, G Nestadt², J Samuels²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Alpert Medical School, Providence, RI, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Laboratory of Clinical Science, NIMH, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 26542617
DOI: 10.1002/pmh.1321

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether dependent personality and/or general personality dimensions might explain the strong relationships between separation anxiety disorder (Sep-AD) and three other anxiety disorders (agoraphobia, panic disorder and social anxiety disorder) in individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Methods: Using data from 509 adult participants collected during the OCD Collaborative Genetic Study, we used logistic regression models to evaluate the relationships between Sep-AD, dependent personality score, general personality dimensions and three additional anxiety disorders.

Results: The dependent personality score was strongly associated with Sep-AD and the other anxiety disorders in models adjusted for age at interview, age at onset of OC symptoms and worst ever OCD severity score. Several general personality dimensions, especially neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness, were also related to Sep-AD and the other anxiety disorders. Sep-AD was not independently related to these anxiety disorders, in multivariate models including general personality and dependent personality disorder scores.

Conclusions: The results suggest that Sep-AD in childhood and these other anxiety disorders in adulthood are consequences of dependent personality disorder (for agoraphobia and panic disorder) or introversion (for social phobia). It is unknown whether these results would be similar in a non-OCD sample.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Agoraphobia / psychology*
Anxiety Disorders / psychology
Anxiety, Separation / psychology*
Dependent Personality Disorder / psychology*
Female
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Middle Aged
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / psychology*
Panic Disorder / psychology*
Personality Disorders / psychology
Social Behavior*
Young Adult