Measuring the hierarchical general factor model of psychopathology in young adults

Abstract

There is evidence that models of psychopathology specifying a general factor and specific second-order factors fit better than competing structural models. Nonetheless, additional tests are needed to examine the generality and boundaries of the general factor model. In a selected second wave of a cohort study, first-order dimensions of psychopathology symptoms in 499 23- to 31-year-old twins were analyzed. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a bifactor model specifying a general factor and specific internalizing and externalizing factors fit better than competing models. Factor loadings in this model were sex invariant despite greater variances in the specific internalizing factor among females and greater variances in the general and specific externalizing factors among males. The bifactor structure was robust to the exclusion of any single first-order dimension of psychopathology. Furthermore, the results were essentially unchanged when all overlapping symptoms that define multiple disorders were excluded from symptom dimensions. Furthermore, the best-fitting bifactor model also emerged in exploratory structural equation modeling with freely estimated cross-loadings. The general factor of psychopathology was robust across variations in measurement and analysis.

The Underlying Structure of Comorbid Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in Prison Populations

“…High loadings of personality disorders on the P factor and high loadings of alcohol use disorders on the externalizing factor were consistent with results from other studies in general and prison populations [16, 22]. Recent studies indicated that borderline personality disorders were comorbid with several other forms of psychopathology and associated with more than one underlying dimension (i.e., the distress subfactor of the internalizing dimension and the externalizing dimension) [43, 44].…”

Unresolved–Disorganized Attachment is Associated With Smaller Hippocampus and Increased Functional Connectivity Beyond Psychopathology

“…Although there is evidence that UD attachment increases vulnerability to psychopathology in general, it is unknown how unresolved trauma relates to the abnormalities in brain structure and function that are commonly found in patients with psychopathology (Caspi et al., ; Lahey et al., ). In the current study, we therefore examined whether UD attachment is related to brain abnormalities across multiple psychiatric diagnoses.…”

Aplikasi Model Bifaktor untuk Mengevaluasi Validitas Instrumen Pengukuran: Modul 1

“…Model bifaktor sebenarnya bukan gagasan baru, namun popularitasnya di kalangan peneliti sosial mulai meningkat dalam beberapa tahun terakhir. Model bifaktor sudah diterapkan pada pengukuran di bidang kesehatan mental (Brouwer & Meijer, 2013;Lahey et al, 2018), kepribadian (Biderman et al, 2018), dan pendidikan (Scherer & Gustafsson, 2015;Wang, Kim, Dedrick, Ferron, & Tan, 2018). Sebagai pengantar, Modul 1 membahas model bifaktor secara konseptual.…”