Anxiety and Depression in a Clinical Population: Transdiagnostic Factors in Mental Health

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide, placing an increasing burden on public health systems. However, certain transdiagnostic factors may modulate vulnerability to these disorders: personality traits, emotional regulation, and social support. Objective: To examined these factors, classifying them as either risk or protective through correlation analyses and qualitative comparative analyses in a clinical sample. Methods: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final sample consisted of 61 participants (73.8% female, 24.6% male, 1.6% other genders) aged between 20 and 66 years (M = 43.79; SD = 12.75). Results: Neuroticism was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression, whereas extraversion predicted better mental health. Additionally, emotion dysregulation correlated positively with both psychopathologies. Finally, perceived social support emerged as a sufficient condition for lower anxiety levels; conversely, its absence was linked to higher levels of both anxiety and depression. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of further investigating risk and protective factors related to highly prevalent mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Better understanding these factors can help improve assessment, diagnosis, and treatment within clinical practice.