Deconstructing trait anxiety: a network perspective
Deconstructing trait anxiety: a network perspective
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DOI：
10.1080/10615806.2018.1439263
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发表时间：
2018-01-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
McNally, Richard J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Heeren, Alexandre;Bernstein, Emily E.;McNally, Richard J.
背景和目标：几十年来，特质焦虑研究的主导范式一直将这一结构视为表示反映其存在的思想、感受和行为的根本原因。最近，出现了人格网络理论。根据这一观点，特质焦虑是一种形成性建构，源自其构成特征（例如思想、感受、行为）之间的相互作用；它不是这些特征的潜在原因。设计：在这项研究中，我们将特质焦虑描述为相互作用元素的网络系统。方法：为此，我们通过计算未选择的样本（N = 611）中的正则化偏相关网络来估计图形高斯模型。我们还实施了基于模块化的社区检测分析，以测试特质焦虑的特征是否作为单一网络系统具有一致性。结果：我们发现特质焦虑确实可以被概念化为一个由相互作用元素组成的单一、连贯的网络系统。结论：这种全新的特质焦虑可视化方法可能会为其构成特征之间的相互作用提供特别丰富的信息。由于先前的研究表明特质焦虑是焦虑相关精神病理学发展的危险因素，因此我们的研究结果也为新的研究方向奠定了基础。
Background and objectives: For decades, the dominant paradigm in trait anxiety research has regarded the construct as signifying the underlying cause of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that supposedly reflect its presence. Recently, a network theory of personality has appeared. According to this perspective, trait anxiety is a formative construct emerging from interactions among its constitutive features (e.g., thought, feelings, behaviors); it is not a latent cause of these features.Design: In this study, we characterized trait anxiety as a network system of interacting elements.Methods: To do so, we estimated a graphical gaussian model via the computation of a regularized partial correlation network in an unselected sample (N=611). We also implemented modularity-based community detection analysis to test whether the features of trait anxiety cohere as a single network system.Results: We find that trait anxiety can indeed be conceptualized as a single, coherent network system of interacting elements.Conclusions: This radically new approach to visualizing trait anxiety may offer an especially informative view of the interplay between its constitutive features. As prior research has implicated trait anxiety as a risk factor for the development of anxiety-related psychopathology, our findings also set the scene for novel research directions.