IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v72y2026i5p1412-1425.html

A Network Analysis of Depression Symptoms Among Adults in Peru: Insights From the 2019 to 2022 Peruvian Demographic Health Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo D. Valencia
  • José Ventura-León
  • Daniel Fernández-Guzman
  • Brenda Caira-Chuquineyra
  • Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez

Abstract

Background: Depression is a major public health concern, and understanding its symptom structure can improve assessment and treatment. Network analysis offers a novel approach to examine the relationships between depressive symptoms and identify core symptoms. Aim: this study aimed to evaluate the structure and dynamics of the depressive symptom network in the Peruvian population using network analysis methodologies and to assess its evolution across different years. Methods: This study utilized data from 119,909 Peruvian adults collected between 2019 and 2022. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Network analysis was employed to examine symptom interconnections and their evolution over time. Results: The depressive symptom network showed high stability across the 4 years, with “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless†(PHQ-9 item 2) consistently emerging as the most central and interconnected symptom. Conclusion: The stability of the depression network and the centrality of specific symptoms suggest potential targets for interventions aimed at improving the assessment and treatment of depression in Peruvian adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo D. Valencia & José Ventura-León & Daniel Fernández-Guzman & Brenda Caira-Chuquineyra & Tomás Caycho-Rodríguez, 2026. "A Network Analysis of Depression Symptoms Among Adults in Peru: Insights From the 2019 to 2022 Peruvian Demographic Health Survey," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 72(5), pages 1412-1425, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:5:p:1412-1425
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640261420937
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640261420937
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00207640261420937?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:5:p:1412-1425. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.