COVARIATION OF THE ANXIOUS-DEPRESSED SYNDROME DURING ADOLESCENCE - SEPARATING FACT FROM ARTIFACT

Nosological (symptom overlap) and methodological (informant) artifact in the covariation of an empirically derived syndrome of anxious-depre ssed symptoms with 7 other syndromes of emotional and behavior problem s was examined in reports by parents, teachers, and adolescents on a n ationally representative sample of 908 adolescents. Although minor sym ptom overlap was observed and the effects of informant were significan t, the anxious-depressed syndrome covaried significantly with all othe r syndromes after controlling for these effects. Indices of covariatio n controlling for informant effects were all significant and ranged fo r all syndromes except for delinquent behavior from .619 to .681, refl ecting significant covariation of the anxious-depressed syndrome with both externalizing and internalizing syndromes. Covariation of the anx ious-depressed syndrome and delinquent behavior was .470. Implications for research on the comorbidity-covariation of depressive syndromes d uring childhood and adolescence are highlighted.