Confiabilidade em validade convergente da Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index em crianças e adolescentes

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and the convergent validity of the Children Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) with DSM-IV anxiety disorder symptoms, by comparison with the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), in a community sample of Brazilian children and adolescents. METHODS: Children and adolescents from five schools were selected from a larger study that aimed to assess different aspects of childhood anxiety disorders. All participants completed the CASI and the SCARED. RESULTS: This study supported the reliability of the CASI total score. Girls reported higher total anxiety sensitivity scores than boys and there were no differences in total anxiety sensitivity scores between children and adolescents. This study showed moderate to high correlations between the CASI scores with SCARED scores, all correlations coefficients being positive and significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate an appropriate reliability and evidence of convergent validity in the CASI in a sample of Brazilian children and adolescents.OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi examinar a confiabilidade e a validade convergente da Children Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) com sintomas de transtornos de ansiedade de acordo com o DSM-IV, por meio da comparação com a Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). MÉTODOS: Crianças e adolescentes provenientes de cinco escolas foram selecionados de uma amostra de um estudo maior que avaliava diferentes aspectos dos transtornos de ansiedade. Todos os participantes completaram a CASI e a SCARED. RESULTADOS: Esse estudo demonstrou a confiabilidade do escore total da CASI. Meninas apresentaram escores de sensibilidade à ansiedade mais altos do que meninos e não houve diferença nos escores totais de sensibilidade de ansiedade entre crianças e adolescentes. Esse estudo encontrou correlações de moderada a alta entre os escores da CASI e os escores da SCARED, sendo todas as correlações positivas e significativas. CONCLUSÕES: Nossos achados demonstraram uma confiabilidade apropriada e evidência de validade convergente da CASI em uma amostra de crianças e adolescentes brasileiros.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Hospital de Clínicas de Porto AlegreUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulInstitute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and AdolescentUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESP, PsiquiatriaSciEL

The joint structure of major depression, anxiety disorders, and trait negative affect

Background: Dimensional models of psychopathology demonstrate that two correlated factors of fear and distress account for the covariation among depressive and anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, these models tend to exclude variables relevant to psychopathology, such as temperament traits. This study examined the joint structure of DSM-IV-based major depression and anxiety disorders along with trait negative affect in a representative sample of adult individuals residing in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Methods: The sample consisted of 3,728 individuals who were administered sections D (phobic, anxiety and panic disorders) and E (depressive disorders) of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) 2.1 and a validated version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Data were analyzed using correlational and structural equation modeling. Results: Lifetime prevalence ranged from 2.4% for panic disorder to 23.2% for major depression. Most target variables were moderately correlated. A two-factor model specifying correlated fear and distress factors was retained and confirmed for models including only diagnostic variables and diagnostic variables along with trait negative affect. Conclusions: This study provides support for characterization of internalizing psychopathology and trait negative affect in terms of correlated dimensions of distress and fear. These results have potential implications for psychiatric taxonomy and for understanding the relationship between temperament and psychopathology

The Affective and Emotional Composite Temperament (AFECT) model and scale: A system-based integrative approach

Based on many temperament frameworks, here we propose an integration of emotional and affective temperaments (the AFECT model), forming a common substrate for mood, behavior, personality and part of cognition. Temperament is conceived as a self-regulated system with six emotional dimensions: volition, anger, inhibition, sensitivity, coping and control. the different combinations of these emotional dimensions result in 12 affective temperament types, namely depressive, anxious, apathetic, obsessive, cyclothymic, dysphoric, irritable, volatile, disinhibited, hyperthymic and euphoric. We also developed and validated a self-report scale to evaluate this construct, the Affective and Emotional Composite Temperament Scale (AFECTS).Methods: Exploratory and confirmatory psychometric analyses were performed with the internet version of the AFECTS in 2947 subjects (72% females, 35 +/- 11 years old).Results: the factors interpreted as volition, anger, inhibition, sensitivity, coping and control showed very good Cronbach's alphas for 5 dimensions (0.87-0.90) and acceptable alpha for inhibition (0.75). Confirmatory factor analysis corroborated this 6-factor structure when considering inhibition as a second-order factor with fear and caution as first-order factors (SRMR = 0.061; RMSEA = 0.053). in the Affective section, all 12 categorical affective temperaments were selected in the categorical choice, with 99% of volunteers identifying at least one adequate description of their affective temperament.Limitations: Only the internet version was used in a general population sample.Conclusion: the AFECT model provides an integrated framework of temperament as a self-regulated system, with implications for mental health, psychiatric disorders and their treatment. the AFECTS showed good psychometric properties to further study this model. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPERGSPontificia Univ Catolica Rio Grande do Sul, Fac Biociencias & Med, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Psiquiatria, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Ciencias Saude Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psiquiatria, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Bioquim, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psiquiatria, São Paulo, BrazilFAPERGS: 10/0055-0FAPERGS: 10/0036-5-PRONEX/Conv. 700545/2008Web of Scienc