Objective: It is widely known that childhood traumatic experiences are mostly associated with psychiatric disorders. In this study, the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and panic disorder (PD) development was examined with regards to all types of traumas including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect.

Material and Method: The sample for this study consisted of 59 outpatients and 61 healthy individuals serving as the control group. These individuals in the experimental group were selected from outpatients who had been diagnosed with PD based on American Psychatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria and who did not have any other psychiatric disorder. The

Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28) was filled by the individuals themselves and the socio-demographic form by the researcher on behalf of them.

Results: The main finding is that the individuals in the experimental group were found to have significantly high scores in comparison to those in the control group with respect to the total CTQ score (p=0.006) and specifically, the emotional neglect (p=0.004) and the emotional abuse sub-scores (p=0.009).

Conclusion: The results revealed that the type and quality of trauma experienced during the childhood period can be a predictor for the psychiatric disorder subtype that can occur in the future years.

Childhood trauma Emotional abuse Emotional neglect Panic disorder