The current investigation compared the fit of three models of internalizing in middle childhood: (1) a unitary factor model, (2) a two-factor model corresponding to the DSM-IV Anxiety/Depression distinction, and (3) a two-factor model corresponding to the Fear/Distress distinction observed in structural studies of adult psychopathology (Krueger, 1999; Slade & Watson, 2006). Mothers of 344 children (50.6% female, mean age = 9.97, SD = .82) reported on childhood internalizing symptoms and personality traits. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed acceptable fit indices for all three models. The unitary factor model provided the most parsimonious fit to the data. Although the structural analyses suggested that internalizing subfactors were not differentiated in middle childhood, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that personality dimensions uniquely predicted fear and distress disorders. These results suggest that personality foreshadows later psychopathology structure before it is manifest at the symptom level.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/25737 |
| Date | 07 January 2011 |
| Creators | Kushner, Shauna Caitlin |
| Contributors | Tackett, Jennifer L. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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