The overlap between depression and anxiety on different levels of psychopathology

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 223 - 231
• Main Authors: Hiller, Wolfgang, Zaudig, Michael, Bose, Michael v.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.03.1989; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Classification; Depression; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder - psychology; DSM-III-R; Humans; Manuals as Topic; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Psychological Tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Syndrome; DSM-III-R; Depression; Anxiety; Classification; Human; Statistical analysis; Psychometrics; Personality; Revised drafting; Personality disorder; Test validation; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III; Nosography; Adult; Diagnosis
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/0165-0327(89)90077-3

Symptoms, syndromes, and diagnoses (DSM-III-R) for depression and anxiety were assessed and evaluated in 150 psychiatric outpatients. It was hypothesized that the coexistence of depression and anxiety within subjects strongly depends on the psychopathological level determined. The results confirmed this assumption. Overlap proportions for symptoms were almost twice as high as for diagnoses (52% vs. 29%). Intermediary rates were obtained for syndromes. Implications of these results for research on anxious depression, often considered to be qualitatively distinct from pure depression or anxiety disorders, are discussed.