Latent class analysis of anxiety and depressive symptoms of referred adolescents

Background: Comorbidity between anxiety disorders and depressive disorders in adolescents occurs very frequently. The aim of this study was to investigate if anxiety and depression represent distinct disease entities. Methods: Two thousand thirty two 11- to 18-year-olds, referred to mental health services, were investigated. Self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression were analyzed with latent class analysis. Results: The numbers of adolescents with severe depression symptoms, but with less severe, or absent, anxiety symptoms, were negligible. Further, two subgroups could be discerned in those with severe anxiety symptoms: one with severe depressive symptoms, and one with mild depressive symptoms. Limitations: A self-report questionnaire was used, whereas diagnostic interview information regarding DSM-IV disorders was not available. Discussion: It seems less useful to develop treatments, or to conduct studies aimed at etiological mechanisms, that are specifically aimed at depression and not at anxiety. Further, it may be relevant to discern specific subgroups of anxious adolescents, with severe versus mild comorbid depression symptoms.