The role of childhood stress in symptoms of social phobia and agoraphobia in adulthood

Objectives: Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders in modern times. Childhood stress constitutes a risk factor for their occurrence in adulthood. Methods: In a sample of 1000 Polish and German probands recruited via the internet, we studied the associations of nine childhood stress factors (physical abuse, periodic harsh physical punishment, threat of physical violence, sexual abuse, neglect, long-term absence of a parent, violence between parents, arguments between parents and financial hardship) with later agoraphobic and sociophobic symptoms. Results: Especially neglect showed a strong association to both forms of phobic symptoms. Threat of physical violence as well as periodic harsh physical punishment and threat of physical violence also showed an association to both forms of phobic symptoms. Discussion: The study revealed plausible associations for both forms of anxiety and various childhood adversities, though the amounts of explained variances were generally small.