The recollection of parental rearing styles in patients with panic disorder

Studies of the mental image of parents assessed by means of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in patients with panic disorder (according to DSM-III-R) have shown conflicting results. We examined 45 patients with panic disorder with and without agoraphobia and 116 controls using the PBI. As a group, patients with panic disorder reported significantly less care and more protection from parents than the controls. This difference was shown by the patients who had panic disorder with major agoraphobia, while those with minor agoraphobia did not differ from the controls. The present study supports the findings that low levels of care and high levels of protection, rather than affectionate constraint, were the predominant mental image reported by patients with panic disorder, using the PBI.