Causal risk factors for the (co-) occurrence of anxiety and depression: a comparison of structural equation modeling and causal discovery

Schulz, Rebecca (2024) Causal risk factors for the (co-) occurrence of anxiety and depression: a comparison of structural equation modeling and causal discovery. Research Master thesis, Research Master.

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Abstract

To increase insights into the causal pathways leading to anxiety, depression and their frequent co-occurrence, this study compared two different causal modeling techniques structural equation modeling (SEM) and causal discovery (CD). In a cross-sectional community sample comprising non-clinical and clinical participants (N = 1680), we investigated the causal connections between five prominent cognitive risk factors - anxiety sensitivity (AS), cognitive reactivity (CR), repetitive negative thinking (RNT), rumination, and worry - and depression and anxiety symptoms. Although SEM and CD results were incongruent, the most robust results showed that AS and CR were specific causal risk factors for anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. Worry and rumination were transdiagnostic causal risk factors and partly explained symptom co-occurrence. Therefore, worry and rumination might present important targets for the treatment of depression-anxiety comorbidity. The incongruence of SEM and CD results induced uncertainty in these conclusions but also provided a basis for valuable follow-up investigations.

Item Type:	Thesis (Research Master)
Supervisor name:	Jong, P.J. de
Degree programme:	Research Master
Differentiation route:	Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology [Research Master]
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2024 14:14
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2024 14:14
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4129

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