Pari, who is eight years old now, continues to cling to her parents and refuses to go to school without them. She screams, throws tantrums and feels fearful when she is left alone in a room by herself. These are characteristic features of:

The correct answer is Separation anxiety disorder.

Understanding Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD):
Separation anxiety disorder is a psychological condition characterized by excessive, developmentally inappropriate anxiety regarding separation from home or from those to whom the individual has a strong emotional attachment (typically parents or caregivers).

Analysis of Pari's Symptoms:
1. Age-Inappropriate Behavior: While separation anxiety is a normal developmental phase in infants and toddlers, it is considered atypical and excessive for an eight-year-old child like Pari.
2. Clinging and School Refusal: Pari's persistent refusal to go to school without her parents and her need to constantly cling to them are classic behavioral expressions of the fear of being separated from her primary attachment figures.
3. Extreme Distress when Alone: Her intense reactions (screaming, throwing tantrums, and experiencing fear when left alone in a room) highlight a severe inability to tolerate physical separation, which aligns directly with the diagnostic criteria for Separation Anxiety Disorder.

Why Other Options are Incorrect:
• Panic disorder: Involves recurrent, unexpected panic attacks that are not restricted to a specific trigger like separation.
• Phobia: Characterized by an intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation (such as heights, spiders, or flying), rather than the general separation from attachment figures.
• Generalised anxiety disorder: Involves excessive, uncontrollable worry about a wide variety of everyday things (such as health, grades, or family matters), rather than focusing specifically on separation anxiety.