Investigation of early separation anxiety symptom levels in Turkish young adults

This retrospective study was aimed at determining whether or not the early separation anxiety symptom levels of young adults differ according to their personal and familial characteristics. The sample consisted of 284 university students attending Anadolu University in Turkey, in the 2004-2005 academic years. Data were collected from the Separation Anxiety Symptoms Scale (Ceyhan, 2000) and a questionnaire. Analysis of the data was conducted using independent t tests and analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Results revealed that the levels of early separation anxiety symptoms of females were significantly higher than those of males. Also, the levels of early separation anxiety symptoms of young adults who were only children were significantly higher than those of first, middle, and last children. There was no significant difference in terms of the variables such as mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes perceived retrospectively, attendance at nursery school, or mothers’ working conditions during childhood. Results are discussed in the light of literature regarding the limitations of the study.