Youth comorbidity as a function of affect, coping, and anxiety and depression symptoms
Description
TitleYouth comorbidity as a function of affect, coping, and anxiety and depression symptoms
Date Created2021
Other Date2021-05 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (iv, 48 pages)
DescriptionYouth presenting with comorbid anxiety and depressive symptomatology are at higher risk for functional impairment and poorer clinical outcomes compared to youth meeting criteria for either disorder alone (Costello, Mustillo & Erkanli, 2003; Garber & Weersing, 2010). The tripartite model of anxiety and depression, which stipulates that both disorders share convergent and discriminant features of positive and negative affect, complements current models of comorbidity. Likewise, research on coping mechanisms has pointed to coping responses that are common to both anxiety and depression (rumination, avoidance; McLaughlin, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011; Chu et al., 2016; Roelofs et al., 2009) and others that are specific to either depression (disengagement; Evans et al., 2014) or to anxiety (physiological arousal, escape; Hedtke, Kendall, & Tiwari, 2009). However, little research has looked at both affective trait disposition (tripartite theory), coping styles to stress, and clinical severity as a way to understand the unique and common mechanisms that underlie anxiety and mood diagnoses. In order to determine whether such mechanisms were present, demographics, coping, affect and anxiety/depression symptoms were entered as predictors in a two-step binary logistic regression used to predict comorbid depression. The first set of analyses included demographics, affect and coping as predictors while the second set of analyses added anxiety and depression symptoms to rule out the possibility that comorbidity was related to clinical severity alone. Problem-solving (OR = -.19, 95% CI, .69-1.0) socioeconomic status (OR = -.22, 95% CI, .69-.95) and depression symptoms (OR = .21, 95% CI, 1.12-1.37) were significant in predicting comorbidity. Results did not indicate any predictive effects of affect on comorbid anxiety-depression. Findings from the study suggest that problem-solving and socioeconomic status may be important targets when considering treatment planning.
NoteM.S.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD graduate
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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