Aging and symptoms of anxiety and depression: Structural invariance of the tripartite model

Document Type

Article

Keywords

anxiety, depression, tripartite model, aging, older adults

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Negative affect measures were evaluated in a cross-sectional community sample of adults aged 18–93 (N = 335) to examine the structure of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in young, middle, and older adult cohorts. Structural equation modeling was used to contrast 3 nested models: a 1-factor general distress model; a 2-factor high negative–low positive affect model; and a 3-factor “tripartite model” reflecting a higher order Negative Affect factor that is common to depression and anxiety problems and 2 lower order factors, Low Positive Affect (mostly specific to depression) and Arousal (specific to anxiety/panic). As expected, the tripartite model fit best for all age groups. Further, multigroup analyses indicated age invariance for the tripartite model, suggesting the model can be effectively applied with older populations.

Article Number

1111

Publication Date

2007

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