ABSTRACT
In this study, the authors examined the validity of the tripartite model of anxiety and depression in a community epidemiological sample of 467 urban African American youth. Participants completed the Baltimore How I Feel, a measure of anxiety and depressive symptoms, in Grades 6 and 9. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a 3-factor model representing the tripartite model fit the data well and better than competing models. Longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis revealed configural invariance of the tripartite factor structure. However, a predicted divergence among dimensions over time was not evidenced. High correlations among the tripartite dimensions suggest that anxiety and mood symptoms may not differentiate in urban youth. Results are discussed in terms of the ethnicity and urban context of this community sample.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/epidemiology , Depression/epidemiology , Urban Population/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Anxiety/diagnosis , Child , Depression/diagnosis , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Female , Humans , Male , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the specificity of components of anxiety sensitivity (phrenophobia, fear of cardiovascular sensations, and fear of unsteadiness) to anxiety and depression in a sample of African-American adolescents. METHOD: Participants were 527 African-American adolescents (238 females, mean age 13.8 years) who were originally recruited as first graders in 1993 to 1994 for participation in the second-generation Johns Hopkins Prevention Intervention Research Center trials. Youths completed measures of anxiety sensitivity and anxious and depressive symptoms in the spring of 2001. Associations between anxiety sensitivity and depression and anxiety were examined using hierarchical linear regressions. RESULTS: Anxiety sensitivity as a unitary construct was positively associated with symptoms of anxiety after adjusting for symptoms of depression. Fear of unsteadiness showed specificity to anxiety after adjusting for depression and phrenophobia. Phrenophobia was positively associated with anxiety and depression, after adjusting for the other symptom and fears of physical sensations. CONCLUSIONS: Specificity of anxiety sensitivity to anxiety in a sample of African-American adolescents furthers understanding of the nature of anxiety sensitivity in this group and the potential roles of components of anxiety sensitivity in the development of psychopathology in general.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/diagnosis , Anxiety/ethnology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Adolescent , Anxiety/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder, Major/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder, Major/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
This study examined the structure and symptom correlates of perfectionism in a sample of 6th-grade, urban, African American children using the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS; Flett, Hewitt, Boucher, Davidson, & Munro, 2000). Confirmatory factor analysis showed inadequate fit of the original subscales. Exploratory factor analysis suggested 3 dimensions of perfectionism: A Socially Prescribed and a Self-Oriented-Critical factor were described as maladaptive, whereas a Self-Oriented-Striving factor was proposed as adaptive. Cross-sectional correlations among the perfectionism dimensions and symptoms of psychopathology fit well with the adaptive versus maladaptive model. In addition, Socially Prescribed Perfectionism showed a robust predictive relation to 7th-grade internalizing symptoms, especially depression, in boys. Results are discussed in the context of the cultural and socioeconomic characteristics of this African American sample and suggestions for future research are provided.
Subject(s)
Black or African American/psychology , Personality Disorders/ethnology , Black or African American/statistics & numerical data , Child , Conduct Disorder/diagnosis , Conduct Disorder/ethnology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Personality Disorders/diagnosis , Personality Disorders/epidemiology , Personality InventoryABSTRACT
A disproportionate number of persons with panic disorder (PD) smoke cigarettes compared to individuals with other anxiety disorders and people in the general population. Currently, there is little theoretical or empirical understanding as to how smoking impacts those with PD. The present descriptive psychopathology study provided a test of the pathoplastic relationship between smoking and PD by investigating the additive negative impact of smoking on PD in terms of emotional, functional, and physical health impairment indices. Patients with PD who regularly smoke (PDSM) were compared to PD alone (N=122) in a cross-sectional analysis. As expected, persons with PDSM reported significantly more severe and intense anxiety symptoms and social impairment compared to persons with PD alone. No differences were evident for panic attacks or physical illness variables. These findings are discussed in relation to Pathoplastic models of dysfunction.
