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Factor Structure of Measures of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in African American Youth

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Abstract

Previous research has suggested that the factor structure of anxiety measures is different in African American samples compared to majority population samples. However, these findings may be due to misuse of analytic methods rather than meaningful differences in the underlying presentation of anxiety. To address this, we examined the factor structure of two measures of child anxiety: the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children in a sample of 229 African American youth. Contrary to previous research, confirmatory factor analyses yielded good fit for the original factor structures of both measures. These results suggest that the underlying factor structure of these measures may not be significantly different for African American and majority population youth as previously thought. The effect of data analytic procedures on subsequent conclusions and theory is discussed and recommendations are made.

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Notes

  1. The original and the residual correlation matrices did not significantly differ from one another (χ2 [104] = 68.58, p = 1.00).

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Acknowledgments

We thank Alyssa M. Ward, Shannon Hourigan, Monika Szczotka, Catherine Kirk, Russ Clay, Tiffany Simmons, Jenny Callear, Brittney Pearson, Reena Shreshtha, Cintia Celis, Adam Bouchard, and Katherine Taylor. The study was supported by a College Scholarship Enhancement Grant from Virginia Commonwealth University to Dr. Southam-Gerow. The funding body played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, or writing of this research.

Conflict of interest

The authors do not have any potentially conflicting interests to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, 800 E. Leigh St. Suite 100, Office 135C, Richmond, VA, 23219, USA

    Ruth C. Brown

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Ilya Yaroslavsky

  3. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Alexis M. Quinoy & Michael A. Southam-Gerow

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Allan D. Friedman, Richard R. Brookman & Michael A. Southam-Gerow

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  1. Ruth C. Brown
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  6. Michael A. Southam-Gerow
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Correspondence to Ruth C. Brown.

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Brown, R.C., Yaroslavsky, I., Quinoy, A.M. et al. Factor Structure of Measures of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in African American Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 44, 525–536 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0346-6

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