Spence S H, Rapee R, McDonald C, Ingram M
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Behav Res Ther. 2001 Nov;39(11):1293-316. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00098-x.
This study examined whether anxiety symptoms in preschoolers reflect subtypes of anxiety consistent with current diagnostic classification systems, or should be better regarded as representing a single dimension. Parents of a large community sample of preschoolers aged 2.5 to 6.5 years rated the frequency with which their children experienced a wide range of anxiety problems. Exploratory factor analysis indicated four or five factors and it was unclear whether separation anxiety and generalized anxiety represented discrete factors. Results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated a superior fit for a five-correlated-factor model, reflecting areas of social phobia, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and fears of physical injury, broadly consistent with DSM-IV diagnostic categories. A high level of covariation was found between factors, which could be explained by a single, higher order model, in which first order factors of anxiety subtypes loaded upon a factor of anxiety in general. No significant differences were found in prevalence of anxiety symptoms across genders. Symptoms of PTSD in this sample were rare.
本研究探讨了学龄前儿童的焦虑症状是否反映了与当前诊断分类系统一致的焦虑亚型，还是更应被视为代表单一维度。对一个由2.5至6.5岁学龄前儿童组成的大型社区样本的家长进行调查，让他们对自己孩子出现各类焦虑问题的频率进行评分。探索性因素分析表明存在四或五个因素，且分离焦虑和广泛性焦虑是否代表不同因素并不明确。验证性因素分析结果表明，五因素相关模型的拟合度更高，反映了社交恐惧症、分离焦虑、广泛性焦虑、强迫症和身体伤害恐惧等方面，大致与《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版（DSM-IV）的诊断类别一致。各因素之间存在高度的协变关系，这可以用一个单一的高阶模型来解释，即焦虑亚型的一阶因素加载于一个总体焦虑因素之上。不同性别在焦虑症状患病率上未发现显著差异。该样本中创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的症状很少见。
