SELF-REPORT DIFFERENTIATION OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN CHRONIC PAIN

The psychometric distinctiveness of self-reported anxiety and depressi on in patients with chronic pain was investigated. The item-level resp onses of 220 patients with heterogeneous pain conditions from the Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory State-Anxiety scale were submitted to common factor analysis. Three first-order fact ors were identified: depression, anxiety-absent, and anxiety-present. One second-order factor of negative affect was also identified. Correl ations of first-order factor scores with other psychometric measures s uggested only minor distinctiveness. The findings indicated that it is possible to distinguish anxiety and depression psychometrically in pa tients with chronic pain but suggested that negative affect may be the primary underlying construct of the affective experience of these pat ients.