TY - JOUR
T1 - Somatic symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder from the DSM-IV
T2 - Associations with pathological worry and depression symptoms in a nonclinical sample
AU - Joormann, Jutta
AU - Stöber, Joachim
PY - 1999/9/1
Y1 - 1999/9/1
N2 - The present study investigates specificity of the six somatic symptoms that are associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A nonclinical sample of 183 students provided severity ratings for (a) restlessness, (b) easily fatigued, (c) difficulty concentrating, (d) irritability, (e) muscle tension, and (f) sleep disturbance. In addition, they responded to questionnaires assessing pathological worry and depression symptoms. Partial correlations and multiple regression analyses indicated that only muscle tension showed a unique relation to pathological worry. In contrast, difficulty concentrating was exclusively related to depression symptoms. Present findings corroborate psychophysiological findings that elevated muscle tension is a specific characteristic of pathological worriers. Moreover, they suggest that the problem of unclear boundaries between GAD and major depression may be reduced if future revisions of the somatic symptom list for GAD emphasize muscle tension while de-emphasizing difficulty concentrating. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
AB - The present study investigates specificity of the six somatic symptoms that are associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A nonclinical sample of 183 students provided severity ratings for (a) restlessness, (b) easily fatigued, (c) difficulty concentrating, (d) irritability, (e) muscle tension, and (f) sleep disturbance. In addition, they responded to questionnaires assessing pathological worry and depression symptoms. Partial correlations and multiple regression analyses indicated that only muscle tension showed a unique relation to pathological worry. In contrast, difficulty concentrating was exclusively related to depression symptoms. Present findings corroborate psychophysiological findings that elevated muscle tension is a specific characteristic of pathological worriers. Moreover, they suggest that the problem of unclear boundaries between GAD and major depression may be reduced if future revisions of the somatic symptom list for GAD emphasize muscle tension while de-emphasizing difficulty concentrating. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depression
KW - Generalized anxiety disorder
KW - Worry
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U2 - 10.1016/S0887-6185(99)00017-1
DO - 10.1016/S0887-6185(99)00017-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 10600050
AN - SCOPUS:0345425093
VL - 13
SP - 491
EP - 503
JO - Journal of Anxiety Disorders
JF - Journal of Anxiety Disorders
SN - 0887-6185
IS - 5
ER -