Emotions and the emotional disorders: A quantitative hierarchical perspective

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"Previous evidence has established that general negative affect represents a non-specific factor common to both anxiety and depression, whereas low positive affect is more specifically related to the latter. Little is known, however, about how specific, lower order affects relate to these constructs. We investigated how six emotional disorders-major depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, social phobia, and obsessive compulsive disorder - are linked to both general and specific types of affect in two samples (Ns = 331 and 253), using the Expanded Form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANASX). Replicating previous results, the General Negative Affect scale was nonspecifically related to the emotional disorders, whereas General Positive Affect had a specific (inverse) association with major depression. Fear emerged as the broadest predictor at the lower order level, showing strong and consistent associations with major depression, GAD, PTSD, and panic disorder. In contrast, three lower order scales -Sadness, Guilt, and Joviality- displayed clear specificity and were significant predictors of major depression. These results demonstrate the usefulness of examining affect-psychopathology relations at the specific, lower order level."