CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 326Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMental Health Treatment and Access

Generalized anxiety disorder and depression: childhood risk factors in a birth cohort followed to age 32

MOFFITT, TERRIE E., CASPI, AVSHALOM, HARRINGTON, HONALEE, MILNE, BARRY J., MELCHIOR, MARIA, GOLDBERG, DAVID, POULTON, RICHIE·2007·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291706009640
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Background. The close association between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) prompts questions about how to characterize them in future diagnostic systems. We tested whether risk factors for MDD and GAD are similar or different. Method. The representative 1972–73 Dunedin birth cohort of 1037 males and females was followed to age 32 with 96% retention. Adult GAD and MDD were diagnosed at ages 18, 21, 26, and 32 years, and juvenile anxiety/depression were also taken into account. Thirteen prospective risk measures indexed domains of family history, adverse family environment, childhood behavior, and adolescent self-esteem and personality traits. Results. Co-morbid MDD+GAD was antedated by highly elevated risk factors broadly across all domains. MDD+GAD was further characterized by the earliest onset, most recurrence, and greatest use of mental health services and medication. Pure GAD had levels of risk factors similar to the elevated levels for co-morbid MDD+GAD; generally, pure MDD did not. Pure GAD had risks during childhood not shared by pure MDD, in domains of adverse family environment (low SES, somewhat more maltreatment) and childhood behavior (internalizing problems, conduct problems, somewhat more inhibited temperament). Pure MDD had risks not shared by pure GAD, in domains of family history (of depression) and personality (low positive emotionality). Conclusions. Specific antecedent risk factors for pure adult MDD versus GAD may suggest partly different etiological pathways. That GAD and co-morbid MDD+GAD share many risk markers suggests that the presence of GAD may signal a pathway toward relatively more severe internalizing disorder.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291706009640

Cites

68 of 68 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, a continuous measure of DSM-III-R symptoms of depression at age 9 assessed by unstructured clinical interview did not differentiate persons with and without major depressive disorder in late adolescence or adulthood.

    “In the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, a continuous measure of DSM-III-R symptoms of depression at age 9 years assessed via an unstructured clinical interview by a psychiatrist did not differentiate persons with and without a major depressive disorder in late adolescence or adulthood.11,12”

    From Subthreshold Symptoms of Depression in Preadolescent Girls Are Stable and Predictive of Depressive Disorders (2008) · cites this paper as [12]

  • The stability and predictive validity of childhood symptoms for later depressive disorders has been examined only in a limited way.

    “To date, however, the stability and predictive validity of childhood symptoms to later depressive disorders has been examined in a limited way.”

    From Subthreshold Symptoms of Depression in Preadolescent Girls Are Stable and Predictive of Depressive Disorders (2008) · cites this paper as [12]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
MOFFITT, T. E., CASPI, A., HARRINGTON, H., MILNE, B. J., MELCHIOR, M., GOLDBERG, D., & POULTON, R.
Affiliations
  • Duke University (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • King's College London (GB)
  • University of Otago (NZ)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2007-01-04
Volume
37
Issue
3
Pages
441-452
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291706009640
OpenAlex
W2167819691
Cited by
326
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 25
FWCI
34.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
  • ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (MH-49414, MH 45070, R01MH045070)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Keywords
generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, childhood risk factors, comorbidities, Dunedin birth cohort, child abuse, socioeconomic status, internalizing problems, conduct problems, inhibited temperament, family history of depression, positive affectivity, adolescent self-esteem, mental health service utilization
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Child, Child Abuse, Child Behavior Disorders, Child, Preschool, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Internal-External Control, Life Change Events, Male, New Zealand, Personality Assessment, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Social Environment, Socioeconomic Factors, Temperament, Cohort Studies

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review