Argha Nath Bhattacharyya and Soham Sarma
Sister Nivedita University, West Bengal, India
Pages:43-54
Depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and loneliness often co-occur and may influence one another within complex psychological systems. This study examined the interrelationships among these four constructs using both conventional statistical approaches and network analysis. A cross-sectional survey of 171 Indian participants (predominantly young adults from Kolkata, West Bengal) assessed depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI), obsessive–compulsive symptoms (Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, OCI-R), and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale). Correlational analyses, hierarchical regression models, non-parametric group comparisons, and a Gaussian Graphical Model estimated through EBIC-LASSO were used to examine symptom associations, centrality, bridge characteristics, and network structure. All four constructs were significantly and positively intercorrelated, with depression and anxiety showing the strongest association (r=.757 .765), which remained significant after controlling for obsessive-compulsive symptoms and loneliness. Anxiety was the strongest predictor of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and loneliness independently predicted obsessive-compulsive symptoms beyond demographic factors. The estimated symptom network was fully connected (density= 1.00), with anxiety and depression emerging as the most central and dominant bridge nodes, while loneliness and obsessive–compulsive symptoms occupied peripheral positions. No significant gender differences emerged in network structure. Age-related differences were found for depression and anxiety but not for obsessive-compulsive symptoms or loneliness; educational level showed no significant differences; and socioeconomic status was associated only with loneliness and did not moderate the loneliness-depression relationship. The findings support an integrated, transdiagnostic view of psychological distress in which depression and anxiety function as central organizing symptoms.