Anxiety, depression and hopelessness in adolescents : a structural equation model

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Date
2006
Authors
Cunningham, Shaylyn
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education
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Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2005
Abstract
This study tested a structural model, examining the relationship between a latent variable termed demoralization and measured variables (anxiety, depression and hopelessness) in a community sample of Canadian youth. The combined sample consisted of data collected from four independent studies from 2001 to 2005. Nine hundred and seventy one (n=971) participants in each of the previous four studies were high school students (grades 10-12) from three geographic locations: Calgary, Saskatchewan and Lethbridge. Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires including the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory-Revised (BDI-II), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and demographic survey. Structural equation modeling was used for statistical analysis. The analysis revealed that the final model, including depression, anxiety and hopelessness and one latent variable demoralization, fit the data (chi-square value, X2 (2) =7.24, p<. 001, goodness of fit indices (CFI=0.99, NFI=0.98) and standardized error (0.05). Overall, the findings suggest that close relationships exist among depression, anxiety, hopelessness and demoralization. In addition, the model was stable across demographic variables: sex, grade, and location. Further, the model explains the relationship between sub-clinical anxiety, depression and hopelessness. These findings contribute to a theoretical framework, which has implications with educational and clinical interventions. The present findings will help guide further preventative research in examining demoralization as a precursor to sub-clinical anxiety and depression.
Description
xi, 127 leaves ; 29 cm.
Keywords
Anxiety in adolescence , Depression in adolescence , Despair , Dissertations, Academic
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