title: Possible Involvement of Avoidant Attachment Style in the Relations Between Adult IBS and Reported Separation Anxiety in Childhood.
abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults as well as separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) in childhood are associated with anxiety and somatization. Our aim was to examine possible associations between IBS in adulthood and SAD in childhood. Patients with IBS and healthy subjects completed a demographic questionnaire, the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI), the Somatization Subscale of Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), the Attachment Style Questionnaire, and a retrospective self-report questionnaire regarding RAP. Compared with controls, patients with IBS were characterized by an avoidant attachment style and scored higher on the SCL-90-R scale regarding the tendency to somatization (25.35 ± 7.47 versus16.50 ± 4.40, p < 0.001). More patients with IBS (25% versus 7.5%) reported RAP in childhood, but contrary to prediction, also had significantly lower SASI scores. Adults with IBS were characterized by somatization, insecure attachment style and recalled higher rates of RAP and surprisingly less symptoms of SAD in childhood. Based on these results, an etiological model for IBS is suggested, in which an avoidant attachment style and a tendency to somatization play an important role in the development of IBS. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, School of Behavioral Sciences, Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ben-Israel
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, School of Behavioral Sciences, Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shadach
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, School of Behavioral Sciences, Tel Aviv-Yaffo Academic College, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Sigal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sperber
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychogeriatrics, Geha Mental Health Center, Petach Tikva, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aizenberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petach Tikva, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niv
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petach Tikva, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dickman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: attachment style questionnaire; functional abdominal pain; irritable bowel syndrome; recurrent abdominal pain; separation anxiety disorder