Does age play a role in the structure of anxiety and depression in children and youths? An investigation of the tripartite model in three age cohorts.

Abstract

Although previous studies provide some support for a tripartite model of relations between anxiety and depression in children there is evidence to suggest that anxiety and depression may be increasingly differentiated over development. Using a confirmatory factor analytic strategy with rationally selected item sets from the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory, the current study sought to test unitary, dual, and tripartite models for anxiety and depression in a cross-sectional design using 3 narrow-band age cohorts of nonreferred children and youths. The results found little evidence of increasing differentiation. All models provided a moderate fit to the data, with some evidence that a correlated 3-factor model was the preferred model in all age cohorts. Further research is required to explore the discriminant validity and clinical utility of the tripartite dimensions in childhood populations.