Differentiating anxiety and depression in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder

To examine affect and cognition in differentiating anxiety and depression, 83 older participants with generalized anxiety disorder completed the Cognitive Checklist (CCL) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). A 3-factor solution was found for the PANAS: positive affect (PA), anxiety and anger (Negative Affect 1 [NA-1]), and guilt and shame (Negative Affect 2 [NA-2]). A 2-factor structure was noted for the CCL. Correlations with anxiety and depression measures suggested that the CCL Depression (CCL-D) subscale showed stronger correlations with depression, whereas the CCL Anxiety subscale did not uniquely correlate with anxiety. The NA-1 subscale correlated positively with measures of depression and anxiety, whereas the PA subscale showed negative correlations. Hierarchical regression suggested that the CCL-D subscale was a significant predictor of self-reported depression.