Network analysis of depression and anxiety in Filipino youth

• Main Author: Tiongson, Gabrielle J.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Youth > Philippines; Depression in adolescence > Philippines; Anxiety > Philippines; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_psych/57; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_psych/article/1058/viewcontent/2023_Tiongson_Network_Analysis_of_Depression_and_Anxiety_in_Filipino_Youth_Full_text.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study uses network analysis to explore depression and anxiety symptoms in a large, cross- sectional sample (n = 2,054) of Filipino youth aged 15 to 24. Moving beyond conventional symptom summation methods, symptoms that might be integral to developing more effective screening tools are identified. Central symptoms, highly connected within the network, include 'Worrying too much about different things,' 'Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless,' and 'Uncontrollable worry.' Bridge symptoms, which connect depression and anxiety, include 'Feeling like a failure' and 'Trouble relaxing.' Uniquely, 'Fatigue, low energy' serves as both a central and bridge symptom, the second time this is observed in a Filipino sample (Garabiles et al., 2019). This deviates from the DSM-5-TR because ‘Fatigue, low energy’ is not a hallmark symptom of depression nor anxiety (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). The study also reveals the low centrality in two out of four Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4; Kroenke et al., 2009) items, once more deviating from the DSM-5-TR and suggesting the potential unsuitability of PHQ-4 for screening at-risk Filipino youth. The need to reconsider current screening practices for more accurate identification of at-risk individuals is emphasized. Filipino clinicians are empowered with suggestions for more effective, data-driven, and culturally sensitive screening practices, especially in resource-limited settings like the Philippines. Finally, this study raises the question, “Could ‘Fatigue, low energy’ be a hallmark symptom of depression and anxiety among Filipinos?” Keywords: Filipino youth, depression, anxiety, network analysis, screening, comorbidity, central symptoms, bridge symptoms