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The utility of somatic symptoms as indicators of depression and anxiety in military veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Author(s) -
Ferguson Christopher J.,
Stanley Melinda,
Souchek Julianne,
Kunik Mark E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.20136
Subject(s) - anxiety , depression (economics) , distress , population , clinical psychology , psychiatry , mental health , disease , medicine , pulmonary disease , psychology , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics
The interrelationship between medical illnesses and psychological distress has received increasing attention in the last several years. Partly at issue is the best way to diagnose mental health problems such as depression and anxiety in medical populations. Specifically, are somatic symptoms a valid indicator of depression and anxiety in a medical population? Furthermore, do anxiety and depression remain as distinct constructs for this population, or do they combine to represent general distress? We examine these issues using confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 202 military veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Results indicate best fit for a model of depression and anxiety for which the constructs remained separate rather than as combined indicators of general distress. Furthermore, in this model, somatic symptoms are retained as valid indicators of psychological distress for this sample. Depression and Anxiety 23:42–49, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.