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Results provide empirical support for the ICD-11 proposals that childhood interpersonal traumatic exposure increases risk of CPTSD symptom development.

BackgroundRecent research indicates that the best‐fitting structural model of psychopathology includes a general factor capturing comorbidity (p) and several more specific, orthogonal factors. Little is known about the stability of these factors, although two opposing developmental processes have been proposed: dynamic mutualism suggests that symptom‐level interaction and reinforcement may lead to a strengthening of comorbidity (p) over time, whereas p‐differentiation suggests a general vulnerability to psychopathology that gives way to increasingly distinct patterns of symptoms over time. In order to test both processes, we examine two forms of developmental stability from ages 2 to 14 years: strength (i.e., consistency in the amount of variance explained by general and specific factors) and phenotypic stability (i.e., homotypic and heterotypic continuity).MethodsData are from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Psychopathology symptoms were assessed nine times between ages 2 and 14 years (n = 1,253) using the Child Behavior Checklist completed by mothers. Confirmatory bifactor modeling was used to test structural models of psychopathology at each age. Consistency in strength was examined by calculating the Explained Common Variance (ECV) and phenotypic stability was investigated with cross‐lagged modeling of the general and specific factors.ResultsBifactor models fit the data well across this developmental period. ECV values were reasonably consistent across development, with the general factor accounting for the majority of shared variance (61%–71%). Evidence of both homotypic and heterotypic continuity emerged, with most heterotypic continuity involving the general factor, as it both predicted and was predicted by specific factors.ConclusionsA bifactor model effectively captures psychopathological comorbidity from early childhood through adolescence. The longitudinal associations between the general and specific factors provide evidence for both the hypothesized processes (dynamic mutualism and p‐differentiation) occurring through development.

Objectives. The mental health consequences of COVID-19 are predicted to have a disproportionate impact on certain groups. We aimed to develop a brief measure, the Pandemic Anxiety Scale, to capture the specific aspects of the pandemic that are provoking anxiety, and explore how these vary by health and demographic factors. Design. Data were from a convenience sample of parents (N = 4,793) and adolescents (N = 698) recruited in the first 6 weeks of lockdown. Methods. Factor analytic and IRT methods were used to validate the new measure in both parent and adolescent samples. Associations between scores on the new measure and age, gender, household income, and physical health status were explored using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results. Two factors were identified in both samples: disease anxiety (e.g., catching, transmitting the virus) and consequence anxiety (e.g., impact on economic prospects); and unique associations with health and demographic factors were observed. Conclusions. Anxieties due to the COVID-19 are multifaceted, and the PAS is a short, reliable, and valid measure of these concerns. These anxieties are differentially associated with demographic, social, and health factors, which should be considered when developing strategies to mitigate the mental health impact of the pandemic. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ObjectiveFrequent co-occurrence and bidirectional longitudinal associations have led some researchers to question the boundaries between depression and anxiety. A longitudinal investigation of the interconnected symptom structure of these constructs may help determine the extent to which they are distinct, and whether this changes over development. Therefore, the present study used network analysis to examine these symptom−symptom associations developmentally from early childhood to mid-adolescence.MethodWe analyzed data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,147). Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed on 7 occasions between ages 5 and 14 years using maternal reports. Regularized partial correlation networks were constructed at each time point, and diagnostic boundaries were explored using empirical tests of network modularity (ie, clustering of symptom nodes). Nonparametric permutation tests were used to determine whether symptoms became more associated over development, and network centrality was examined to identify developmental changes in the overall importance of specific symptoms.ResultsSymptoms formed highly interconnected networks, as evidenced by strong associations between depression and anxiety symptoms and a lack of distinct clustering. There was some evidence of an increase in overall connectivity as children aged. Feeling “anxious/fearful” and “unhappy/sad” were consistently the most central symptoms over development.ConclusionMinimal clustering of nodes indicated no separation of depression and anxiety symptoms from early childhood through mid-adolescence. An increase in connectivity over development suggests that symptoms may reinforce each other, potentially contributing to the high levels of lifetime continuity of these disorders.

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Cyberchondria is defined as an increase in anxiety about one's health status as a result of excessive online searches. McElroy and Shevlin (2014) developed the first multidimensional, self-report measure of this construct-the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS). The CSS consists of 33 items which can be summed to form a total score, and/or 5 subscale scores. The aim of the present study was to develop a short-formversion of the CSS, removing the 'Mistrust' subscale. Participants were undergraduate students from two UK universities (N=661, 73% female, Mage = 22.19 years, SD =5.88). Students completed the CSS, Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7). Twelve items were chosen for retention in the short-form based on an exploratory factor analysis. These itemscorresponded to the 4 factors previously identified in the 33-item scale (minus the 'Mistrust' subscale). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the structure of the CSS-12. Confirmatory bifactor modelling indicated that the majority of item covariance was accounted for by a general cyberchondria factor. Construct validity was assessed by examining associations with the SHAI and GAD-7, with stronger correlations observed between the CSS-12 and the SHAI (compared to the GAD-7). The CSS-12 is a brief, reliable, and valid measure of worry/anxiety attributable to excessive online health research.

Childhood abuse (CA) has been found to be related to the development of a variety of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Although CA is also associated with adult loneliness, few studies have investigated the role of loneliness as a mediator in the relationship between CA and adult psychopathology. Using data from a large, general population sample a mediation model was proposed and tested. Controlling for a range of background variables, the results from a series of regression analyses found that loneliness mediated the association between CA and six adult psychiatric disorders. The findings of this study highlight the importance of loneliness to the development of psychopathology. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.