Interpersonal problems across anxiety and depressive disorders

Individuals with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) anxiety or depressive disorder tend to report a lack of agency in social situations. Agency represents one dimension in the interpersonal circumplex model while communion represents the other dimension. In the present study, we mapped six anxiety and depressive disorders examined within the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) onto this model. To this end, we used the structural summary method to reduce Inventory of Interpersonal Problems scores of NESDA Wave 6 participants with a current diagnosis (n = 412) to interpersonal profiles for each of the six examined disorders. The Displacement parameter represents the blend of agency and communion and provided insight into which interpersonal problem theme is most characteristic for a disorder. Amplitude represents the distinctiveness of this theme, and Elevation provides an indication of the level of general interpersonal distress associated with the disorder. Unexpectedly, general interpersonal distress was highest for dysthymia, not major depressive disorder. As expected, however, all disorders (social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, dysthymia, and major depressive disorder) were primarily characterized by a submissive interpersonal style. Additionally, we found greater general interpersonal distress among participants with comorbid anxiety and depression than among participants with depression or anxiety alone. The main finding was that the different anxiety and depressive disorders had comparable interpersonal profiles. This supports the notion that interpersonal style may be a transdiagnostic factor in the emergence and maintenance of these disorders, contributing to interpersonal distress particularly in individuals with comorbid disorders.