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Structure of internalising symptoms in early adulthood

Christchurch Health and Development Study, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, New Zealand

Correspondence: Professor David M. Fergusson, Christchurch Health and Development Study, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, PO Box 4345, Christchurch, New Zealand. Tel: +64 3 372 04 06; fax +64 3 372 04 07; email: david.fergusson{at}chmeds.ac.nz

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

See editorial, pp. 481–483, this issue.

Background Debate surrounds the underlying structure of internalising disorders including major depression, generalised anxiety disorder, phobias and panic disorders.

Aims To model the within-time and across-time relationships of internalising symptoms, incorporating effects from generalised internalising and disorder-specific components of continuity.

Method Data were gathered from a 25-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 953 New Zealand children. Outcome measures included DSM–IV symptom scores for major depression, generalised anxiety disorder, phobia and panic disorder at the ages of 18, 21 and 25 years.

Results Structural equation modelling showed that, within-times, a common underlying measure of generalised internalising explained symptom score comorbidities. Across-time correlation of symptom scores was primarily accounted for by continuity over time in generalised internalising. However, for major depression and phobia there was also evidence of across-time continuity in the disorder-specific components of symptoms.

Conclusions Internalising symptoms can be partitioned into components reflecting both a generalised tendency to internalising and disorder-specific components.

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