Abstract
The current multi-method multi-informant investigation compared the fit of three competing models of internalizing problems in middle childhood: (1) a unitary factor model, (2) a two-factor model corresponding to the DSM-IV Anxiety/Depression distinction, and (3) a twofactor model corresponding to the Fear/Distress distinction observed in structural studies of adult psychopathology (Krueger Archives of General Psychiatry, 56:921-926, 1999); Slade and Watson Psychological Medicine, 36:1593-1600, 2006). In total, 346 youths (mean age= 9.51, SD=.78) and their adult caregivers (344 mothers, 227 fathers) reported on childhood internalizing symptoms and personality traits. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed adequate to good fit indices for all three models, although the unitary factor model provided the most parsimonious summary of the data. Although the structural analyses suggested that internalizing symptom subfactors were not clearly differentiated in middle childhood, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that personality dimensions uniquely predicted the Anxiety/Fear and Depression/Distress disorders. These results suggest that personality correlates differentiate childhood psychopathology structure before it is manifest at the symptom level.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 22-34 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2012 |
Funding
This research was supported in part by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. S.C.Kushner(*) . J. L. Tackett Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada e-mail: [email protected]
Keywords
- Internalizing disorders
- Middle childhood
- Personality
- Structural model
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology