Emotion regulation as central to psychopathology across childhood and adolescence: a commentary on Nobakht et al. (2023)

Abstract

An important goal of clinical/developmental research is to identify factors contributing to the onset and maintenance of psychopathology – particularly factors that could be modified through intervention. Large‐scale, multi‐informant, longitudinal studies provide valuable opportunities for testing such etiological hypotheses, as illustrated by Nobakht et al.'s recent six‐wave cohort study spanning ages 4–14. At a within‐person level, emotion regulation (ER) deficits consistently predicted oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms (including both irritability and defiance), whereas victimization did not. These results comport with growing evidence highlighting ER's centrality to ODD and psychopathology more broadly. While the ER findings carry promising implications, caution is warranted in interpreting the results for victimization given that its association with psychopathology is well‐documented. More research is needed to test precise questions about within‐ and between‐person processes involving ER, victimization, and psychopathology across development. Pressing research questions include whether, how, and when youths' ER can be modified, and with what effects on clinical outcomes.

Editorial: Thinking outside the box – enhancing causal models of neurodevelopmental disorders

“…Vergunst et al, 2023). The findings are in line with the accumulating evidence suggesting that emotion dysregulation might be a central driver of psychopathology more broadly (Evans & Shaughnessy, 2024). Over the last decade, findings reporting shared risk factors, high comorbidity rates and overlapping symptoms between disorders have raised questions about how useful the distinction between diagnostic categories still is (for a detailed discussion see JCPP-Editorial by Fisher, 2022).…”

“…Third, causal models need to be extended to incorporate a better understanding of the causal pathways between neurobiological risk factors (at the genetic, brain and cognitive levels), and their interaction with environmental risk factors. As highlighted by Evans and Shaughnessy (2024) in this issue, understanding the mechanisms that drive changes in psychopathology is not only of theoretical interest but is crucial for developing more tailored and effective interventions.…”