Separation Anxiety: A Study on Commencement at Preschool

Abstract

In this study of the incidence and intensity of separation anxiety on entrance to preschool, differences in variables such as age, sex and prior experience at separation were examined, as well as the relationship between general anxiety and separation anxiety. The subjects were 221 three- and four-year-old children about to commence preschool, while the instruments employed were Doris et al. (1971) Parental Anxiety Rating Scale (PAR), which included a general anxiety subscale and another relating to separation anxiety and their Teacher Separation Anxiety Rating Scale (TSAR). The majority of the children were rated by their parents as exhibiting relatively low levels of age-appropriate anxiety and fears, and teachers found they made a relatively easy adjustment to preschool. No significant sex differences were found in the general fears of the children, but four-year-olds were rated more fearful than three-year-olds. On the separation anxiety subscale of the PAR prior experience with separation was found to be significant, as well as the combined effects of sex, age and experience. A link between separation anxiety and general anxiety proneness was evident. No significant sex, age or prior experience differences were found on the TSAR scale. The study failed to find a significant correlation between the TSAR and the PAR on either of its subscales.