Clinical Psychological Science· 2013Q1
The p Factor
- 2,481citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2013year
Short summary
A new 'p factor' dimension of general psychopathology explains mental disorder structures better than traditional models, reflecting a common underlying vulnerability.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- A single 'p factor' dimension better explains psychopathology structure than three higher-order factors (Internalizing, Externalizing, Thought Disorder).
- Higher p factor scores correlate with greater life impairment, familiality, and worse developmental histories.
- The p factor is associated with compromised early-life brain function.
- This dimension helps explain the difficulty in finding specific causes, consequences, biomarkers, and treatments for individual disorders.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Mental disorders traditionally have been viewed as distinct, episodic, and categorical conditions. This view has been challenged by evidence that many disorders are sequentially comorbid, recurrent/chronic, and exist on a continuum. Using the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, we examined the structure of psychopathology, taking into account dimensionality, persistence, co-occurrence, and sequential comorbidity of mental disorders across 20 years, from adolescence to midlife. Psychiatric disorders were initially explained by three higher-order factors (Internalizing, Externalizing, and Thought Disorder) but explained even better with one General Psychopathology dimension. We have called this dimension the p factor because it conceptually parallels a familiar dimension in psychological science: the g factor of general intelligence. Higher p scores are associated with more life impairment, greater familiality, worse developmental histories, and more compromised early-life brain function. The p factor explains why it is challenging to find causes, consequences, biomarkers, and treatments with specificity to individual mental disorders. Transdiagnostic approaches may improve research.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Clinical Psychological Science, 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology