Elsevier

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Volume 36, Issue 4, July–August 2002, Pages 247-256
Journal of Psychiatric Research

Taxonicity of adolescent melancholia: a categorical or dimensional construct?

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3956(02)00011-0Get rights and content

Abstract

A taxometric analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis that the latent structure of melancholia in adolescents is categorical. Two taxometric procedures were used: Mean Above Minus Below a Cut (MAMBAC) and Maximum Covariance (MAXCOV) analyses. Participants were 378 adolescents presenting for a depression evaluation. Indicators of melancholia were constructed using items from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (K-SADS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The indicators of melancholia were consistent with a categorical latent variable. The findings suggest that the latent structure of melancholia in adolescents is similar to its previously identified categorical structure in adults. Implications for clinical research are discussed.

Section snippets

Taxometric analyses

Until recently, studies attempting to examine the categorical vs. dimensional nature of depression have generally used cluster, factor, discriminant function, grade of membership, latent trait, and latent class analyses (see Kendler et al., 1996). The statistical limitations of these studies have restricted their ability to examine the taxonicity of subtypes (Ruscio and Ruscio, 2000, Meehl, 1979). In contrast, taxometric methods (Golden and Meehl, 1979, Meehl, 1973, Waller and Meehl, 1998) use

Participants

Participants were 378 adolescents evaluated at one of two university medical centers in Philadelphia (n=286) and Cleveland (n=92). The sample consisted of 158 males and 220 females, who ranged from 12 to 20 years of age (mean age=15.7; S.D.=1.6). Most (n=358) were outpatients referred to a child and adolescent depression clinic. An additional 20 participants were evaluated as psychiatric inpatients. Patients were excluded from the outpatient clinic and referred to other programs if they were

Preliminary analyses

In order to conduct a taxometric analysis, it was necessary to develop continuous measures of melancholia. To achieve this, a principal components analysis (PCA) of the 17 K-SADS and 21 BDI items was undertaken. Analysis of the scree plot suggests that two was a reasonable number of components to retain and rotate,1

Discussion

The present study supports the hypothesis that melancholic symptoms are best conceptualized as a categorical construct among a sample of adolescents being evaluated for depression. Both MAXCOV and MAMBAC curves exhibited shapes that are consistent with those of a categorical latent variable.

Recent studies have indicated that many clinical phenomena, including attention problems (Hudziak et al., 1998, Hudziak et al., 1999), borderline personality disorder (Trull et al., 1990), and depression (

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