Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T16:14:07.698Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Symptoms as latent variables

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2010

Dennis J. McFarland  and
Loretta S. Malta
Dennis J. McFarland
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Neural Injury and Repair, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY 12201. [email protected]
Loretta S. Malta
Affiliation:
Stratton VA Medical Center, Albany, NY 12208. [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the target article, Cramer et al. suggest that diagnostic classification is improved by modeling the relationship between manifest variables (i.e., symptoms) rather than modeling unobservable latent variables (i.e., diagnostic categories such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder). This commentary discusses whether symptoms represent manifest or latent variables and the implications of this distinction for diagnosis and treatment.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 2-3 , June 2010 , pp. 165 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA). (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition, (DSM-IV). American Psychiatric Association/APA Books.Google Scholar
Crocker, L. & Algina, J. (1986) Introduction to classical and modern test theory. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Deviva, J. C., Zayfert, C., Pigeon, W. R. & Mellman, T. A. (2005) Treatment of residual insomnia after CBT for PTSD: Case studies. Journal of Traumatic Stress 18:155–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inman, D. J., Silver, S. & Doghramji, K. (1990) Sleep disturbance in post-traumatic stress disorder: A comparison with non-PTSD insomnia. Journal of Traumatic Stress 3:429–37.Google Scholar
Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O. & Walters, E. E. (2005b) Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry 62:617–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, R. C. & Ustun, T. B. (2004) The World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research 13:93–121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mellman, T. A., Bustamante, V., Fins, A. I., Pigeon, W. R. & Nolan, B. (2002) REM sleep and the early development of posttraumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 159:1696–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mellman, T. A. & Pigeon, W. R. (2005) Dreams and nightmares in posttraumatic stress disorder. In: Principles and practice of sleep medicine, ed. Kryger, M., Roth, T. & Dement, W. C., pp. 573–78. Elsevier Saunders.CrossRefGoogle Scholar