The Structure of Depression: Examining the Contribution of Somatic Symptoms to Depression in a Nationally Representative Sample

Depression is often measured as a sum score of how often a person experiences cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms. Though this is an easy and effective way to determine the severity of a person’s depression, it may not account for the contribution of certain symptoms of depression. The aim of this study was to examine the unique contribution of somatic symptoms to the etiology of Depression in a representative sample of the United States using Structural Equation Modeling. By examining measures of anxiety and depression collected from the National Health Institute Survey, I was able to test multiple hypothesized models of anxiety and depression. When examining somatic symptoms as a separate factor of depression, I found that those symptoms have a unique contribution to the measurement of depression and have a unique relationship with outcome variables including the use of mental health treatment.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Kansas

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Fulton, Joseph

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ingram, Rick

• Clinical psychology
• depression
• NHIS
• somatic
• structural equation model

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright held by the author.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:19156

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/38631