Positive and negative affectivity in children: Confirmatory factor analysis of a two-factor model and its relation to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Abstract

The positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) framework that is embodied in the tripartite model of anxiety and depression has proved useful with adult populations; however, there is as yet little investigation with children concerning either the measurement of PA and NA or the relation between PA and NA and levels of adjustment. A confirmatory factor analysis was used in this study to examine the structure of self-reported affect and its relation to depressive and anxious symptoms in school children (4th to 11th grade). Results supported a 2-factor orthogonal model that was invariant across age and sex. Support for the expected pattern of relations between NA and PA with symptoms of depression and anxiety was strong for the older sample (M = 14.2 years) but weaker for the younger sample (M = 10.3 years). Results also provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for children.

Negative Affect in Victimized Children: The Roles of Social Withdrawal, Peer Rejection, and Attitudes Toward Bullying

“…The 15 items on the NA scale were summed, meaning that higher values indicate greater negative emotions. Adequate internal reliability and good convergent and discriminant validity have been demonstrated with comparisons to well-established self-report measures and clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety (Joiner & Lonigan, 2000;Laurent et al, 1999;Lonigan, Hooe, David, & Kistner, 1999). Sufficient internal consistency was found for the NA Scale (Cronbach's αs of .88 and .87) at two time points within this investigation.…”

Reduced hedonic capacity in major depressive disorder: Evidence from a probabilistic reward task

“…Studies using self-report measures have indeed shown that anhedonia and blunted behavioral activation predicted (1) future depressive symptoms (Hundt et al, 2007;Kimbrel et al, 2007), (2) course of depression and time to recovery (McFarland et al, 2006), and (3) poor treatment outcome 8-12 months later (Kasch et al, 2002;Spijker et al, 2001). Moreover, low positive affect has been identified as a risk factor for the development and maintenance of depressive symptoms in children (Hayden et al, 2006;Joiner and Lonigan, 2000;Lonigan et al, 1999).…”

Homotypic Versus Heterotypic Continuity of Anxiety Symptoms in Young Adolescents: Evidence for Distinctions Between DSM-IV Subtypes

“…Evidence for a higher order factor that explains the presence of different types of anxiety has been found in children (Nauta et al, 2004) and adults (Hettema et al, 2005;Krueger, 1999;Vollebergh et al, 2001). Negative affectivity (NA) (Chorpita, 2002;Clark, 2005;Clark & Watson, 1991;Lonigan et al, 1999Lonigan et al, , 2003 may be one of the higher order factors that may explain the finding of heterotypic continuity. NA represents displeasurable engagement with the environment and a sense of high subjective distress (Lonigan et al, 2003), and is often considered as a temperament trait that is associated not only with anxiety, but with depression as well (Clark, 2005).…”