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Is There a Core Process Across Depression and Anxiety?
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 08/09/2012
Bird T et al. – A Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a single factor solution, and the item loadings indicated that the core process represented a perceived inability to control negative thinking.
Methods- Using Structural Equation Modeling the authors compared a model where processes (worry, thought suppression and experiential avoidance) are treated as separate predictors of symptoms (anxiety and depression) against a model where they are represented by one latent factor.
- These models were applied in three analyses: a cross-sectional student sample; a longitudinal subset of this analogue sample; and a cross-sectional sample of individuals with long-term health conditions.
- Comparison of the models showed that while the two sets of models provided comparable fits to the data, the single factor models provided a more parsimonious solution.
- In addition, the latent factor explained a large proportion of variance in all measured processes, suggesting a high degree of overlap between them.
- It also explained more variance in symptoms than the processes separately.
