Anxiety and depression: comorbidity, psychopathology, and social functioning.
A sample of 48 former nonpsychotic inpatients was studied with respect to the overlap of depression and anxiety. Particular emphasis was placed on social dysfunctions associated with anxiety disorder as both a pure and a mixed condition. Furthermore, another question examined was whether social dysfunctions represent a risk factor for the development of a severe depression. Almost 40% of patients with a DSM-III anxiety disorder (during the last 4 weeks before follow-up) simultaneously fulfilled the criteria of a depressive disorder, mainly those of a major depression. While the course of symptomatology for both the pure anxiety and the mixed group had been rather similar over a long period of time, social dysfunctions before index admission had been generally more pronounced in patients who later developed a severe secondary depression. Social dysfunctions of patients with both disorders are not exclusively explainable by a higher severity of symptoms or the presence of particular personality features.
Hecht
H
H
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, FRG.
von Zerssen
D
D
Krieg
C
C
Pössl
J
J
Wittchen
H U
HU
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D010556:Personality Tests; D011599:Psychopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment