Studies have shown that like depression, stressful life events can serve as a precursor to the onset of anxiety disorders. Unlike depression, however, where the nature of the stressor is centered on loss, anxiety disorders seem to be associated with environmental circumstances concerning danger or insecurity.

For example, serious interpersonal conflicts seem to be associated with the presence of agoraphobia. Similarly, individuals suffering from panic disorder report higher instances of childhood adversity, such as abuse and parental indifference, while individuals with agoraphobia and specific phobias were indistinguishable from the control group on the scale of childhood adversity. Attachment difficulties in childhood with one's caretaker have also been implicated as an influence, or risk, of developing anxiety disorders in adulthood, especially agoraphobia. A relationship of insecure attachment with their caretakers has been reported by many individuals suffering from anxiety disorders. Yet, as with all retrospective studies (which are usually subjective and lacking in accuracy and reliability), one must be hesitant to attribute a causal relationship between childhood attachment and adult anxiety disorders until longitudinal studies can be conducted to test these hypotheses. (However, interestingly, one such study found that whereas a strict and moral or religious upbringing was more likely to decrease the risk of an individual committing suicide, this same environment increased the likelihood that such individuals would develop OCD.)

Culture is also a factor, tending to shape the content of individuals' obsessions in particular disorders (such as OCD).