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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

A Multiple Integrated Social Stress Model for Psychiatric Disorders in Female C57BL/6J Mice
Published on: July 15, 2025
Hierarchical model of vulnerabilities for emotional disorders
Peter J Norton1, Paras D Mehta
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5022, USA. pnorton@uh.edu
Abstract:
Clark and Watson's (1991) tripartite model of anxiety and depression has had a dramatic impact on our understanding of the dispositional variables underlying emotional disorders. More recently, calls have been made to examine not simply the influence of negative affectivity (NA) but also mediating factors that might better explain how NA influences anxious and depressive syndromes (e.g. Taylor, 1998; Watson, 2005). Extending preliminary projects, this study evaluated two hierarchical models of NA, mediating factors of anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty, and specific emotional manifestations. Data provided a very good fit to a model elaborated from preliminary studies, lending further support to hierarchical models of emotional vulnerabilities. Implications for classification and diagnosis are discussed.
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