Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Early Adolescence: A Multitrait-Multimethod Factor Analytic Approach

Abstract

Purpose: The overall aim was to examine the construct validity of parent-and selfreported symptoms of anxiety and depression in a Norwegian population-based sample of 12-13 year old adolescents (N=594). Methods:A Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) design with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to differentiate reported variance into trait, method and unique variance, and to determine the validity of the measures in question. Results:The results demonstrated good structural validity and measurement invariance between mother-and child-reported scales, with relatively high mother-child agreement. Latent factors of anxiety and depression were correlated highly, but were not completely overlapping constructs. ThThe Thee MTMM analysis showed high levels of trait variance in all measures.Conclusions: Short symptom scales can be useful tools for examining adolescent anxiety and depression. The impact and importance of structural validity, measurement invariance and using multiple informants in the assessment of adolescent anxiety and depression symptoms are underscored.

Spanish Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Parent Version of the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ-P) in a Non-Clinical Sample of Young School-Aged Children

“…The results of the CFA supported the original onefactor model in Spanish children, showing that the Spanish version of the SMFQ-P measures the underlying factor of general depression. Our findings agree with previous research supporting the unidimensional structure of the scale (Angold et al, 1995;Karevold et al, 2017). Moreover, our results suggest that a 12-item model provides a slightly more reliable measure and a better fit than the 13-item model, by deleting Item 1.…”

“…The aim of the present study was to validate the SMFQ-P for Spanish-speaking children aged 6-8 years. The internal consistency of the scale was adequate (α = .83) and similar to those reported by previous studies conducted in child and adolescent samples of other countries such as the United States (α = .84-.87; Angold et al, 1995;Rhew et al, 2010), Norway (α = .83; Karevold et al, 2017), Brazil (α = .87; Sucupira et al, 2017), and Australia (α = .89; Tennant et al, 2017). Additionally, test-retest results (ICC = .80) supported the scale as a consistent measure over time and are in line with previous findings (ICC = .79; Sucupira et al, 2017).…”

“…Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine in a sample of primary school Spanish-speaking children aged 6 to 8: (a) The factor structure; (b) the internal consistency and test-retest reliability; and (c) the convergent and divergent validity of the SMFQ-P. Based on findings in previous studies (e.g., Angold et al, 1995;Karevold et al, 2017;Sucupira et al, 2017), an adequate fit of the Spanish data to the single-factor structure of the SMFQ-P was hypothesized, and reliability was expected to be good. Regarding convergent and divergent validity, positive significant correlations were expected between the SMFQ and measures of emotional psychopathology (i.e., depression and anxiety), and lower correlations with a non-emotional construct measuring prosocial behavior (e.g., Muris et al, 2003;Zhao et al, 2012).…”

“…On another hand, although the SMFQ-P has shown to be a useful scale to assess childhood depression, even for evaluation of treatment response in early schoolaged children (Creswell et al, 2020;Tennant et al, 2017), few data are available about its psychometric properties in young children (i.e., 6-8 years), as studies have generally focused on older ages (e.g., Karevold et al, 2017;Sucupira et al, 2017). Therefore, it would be valuable to provide further data regarding the factor structure, reliability (i.e., including test-retest reliability) and validity of the SMFQ-P with young school-aged children.…”

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Psychological Distress among Adolescents: Les Directives canadiennes en matière de mouvement sur 24 heures et la détresse psychologique chez les adolescents

“…[14][15][16] However, the 2-factor structure measuring anxiety and depressive symptoms, which represent the 2 most common forms of psychological distress, 17,18 has not been well established at the population level of adolescents. Although anxiety and depressive symptoms are highly correlated, 19,20 establishing whether these represent different constructs in our data would provide important information to guide intervention. It is also unclear whether movement behaviors may be differentially associated with symptoms of depression versus anxiety.…”