Publications internationales The structural relationships among generalized anxiety, obsessions?compulsions, and depression at the syndrome and sub-syndrome level

The structural relationships among generalized anxiety, obsessions?compulsions, and depression at the syndrome and sub-syndrome level

Ryan D. Donahue

Revue : Behaviour Research and Therapy

Department of Psychology, Washington State University, 823 W. 8th, Larned, KS 67550, USA

Received 15 June 2003; revised 1 November 2004; accepted 12 November 2004. Available online 10 March 2005.



This study explored anxiety's relationship to depression by assessing a group of 592 undergraduate psychology students at Washington State University. Multiple measures of generalized anxiety (GA), obsessions?compulsions (O?C), and depression were used to conduct several confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). A three-factor model of GA, O?C, and depression was found superior in fit to a one-factor ?negative-affect? model, a two-factor model of anxiety and depression, and a second-order three-factor model. Further CFAs divided GA, O?C, and depression into six independent symptom category factors utilizing instrument subscales (e.g., worry, somatic anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, cognitive depression, and somatic depression). The fit for this model was superior to three alternative measurement models. The correlations among the six symptom category constructs revealed differential patterns among the cognitive and somatic symptoms.

Keywords: Generalized anxiety; Obsessive?compulsive disorder; Depression; Structural modeling

Behaviour Research and Therapy - Volume 43, Issue 12 - Pages 1587-1609

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