January 1, 1995Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Testing a tripartite model: II. Exploring the symptom structure of anxiety and depression in student, adult, and patient samples.
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Discussion
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Implication
Factor-analytic study reveals a convergent three-factor symptom structure of anxiety and depression across student, adult, and clinical samples, supporting the tripartite model.
Key Points
- To test the validity and structural convergence of the tripartite model distinguishing general distress, depression-specific anhedonia, and anxiety-specific somatic arousal across diverse populations.
- Administered the 90-item Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire across five distinct cohorts: three student samples, one community adult sample, and one clinical patient sample.
- Conducted separate factor analyses of the 90 survey items within each sample to assess consistency across groups.
- Extracted the identical three factors—General Distress, Anhedonia versus Positive Affect, and Somatic Anxiety—across all five independent cohorts.
- Demonstrated broad alignment between empirical factors and the theoretical tripartite dimensions, while individual item loadings highlighted specific opportunities for model refinement.
Cite This Study
Watson et al. (1995) studied this question.