Differentiating symptoms of anxiety and depression in older adults: Distinct cognitive and affective profiles? Cognitive therapy and research

Cognitive an d affective dim ension s of sym ptom s of an xiety an d depression were examined in a sample of 283 community-dwellin g older adu lts (ranging in age from 65 to 93 years). A principal-axis factor analysis with varimax rotation condu cted on the Cognition Checklist (CCL) revealed a factor structure different than that found in younger adu lts. Three factors emerged (Anxious, Social Loss, and Negative Self-Evalua-tion/Worthlessness Cognitions) and, in general, these cognitions were not specifically related to anxious and depressive sym ptom s. Instead, worthlessness cognitions were robustly associated with both anxious and depressive symptom s, including varian ce that was uniqu e to each. In terms of affective dimensions, factor analyses revealed that only anxiety-related items loaded on the negative affectivity subscale. Consequently, negative affectivity was strongly related to varian ce that was uniqu e to anxious symptom s, but was only weakly related to varian ce that was uniqu e to depressive symptom s. On the other hand, positive affectivity was on ly weakly associated with both form s of sym ptom atology. Fin din gs are d iscussed in terms of the cogn itive an d affective distinctions between older and younger adulthood. KEY WORDS: anxiety; older adults; cognition; depression; affect