Developmental differentiation of anxiety and affective neuroses

One hundred and fifty anxiety neurotic and neurotic depressive twin probands were differentiated into three groups by means of discriminant analysis, 50 in each group. The groups were named pure anxiety neurosis, mixed anxiety-depression and pure neurotic depression. Childhood environmental factors seemed important in the development of pure neurotic depression, while mixed anxiety-depression seemed to be determined by environmental factors in adult life. Further investigation showed that loss of a parent before the age of 16, and moving before the age of 14 seemed important in the development of pure neurotic depression. Loss, or threat of loss, of love objects appeared to be the most common precipitating event for the neurotic depression and mixed anxiety-depression groups, while pregnancy and childbirth seemed to be of great significance in the development of pure anxiety neuroses. Furthermore, unmarried status was most frequent in the mixed anxiety-depressive group of probands.