Evaluating Structural Models of Cognitive Vulnerabilities: Transdiagnostic and Specific Pathways to Internalizing Symptoms

Abstract

The structure of cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety and depression was examined via a hierarchical approach to examine the usefulness of a bifactor model for identifying a broad transdiagnostic (i.e., common core) factor versus disorder-specific variables (i.e., unique dimensions) in predicting internalizing psychopathology. Several models (i.e., single factor, correlated factor, single hierarchical, and bifactor models) were evaluated in undergraduate ( n = 351) and adolescent ( n = 385) samples. Across both samples, the bifactor model exhibited comparable good fit as the correlated and single hierarchical models. This model comprised a core transdiagnostic vulnerability factor and six specific factors (i.e., negative cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes, ruminative style, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, and fear of negative evaluation). Although the transdiagnostic factor predicted a general internalizing symptom factor, unique fear-related specific-level associations between individual vulnerability and symptom remained significant. Moreover, the transdiagnostic vulnerability factor predicted internalizing symptoms, even after controlling for personality and gender. These findings highlight the importance of advancing an integrative etiologic model of internalizing psychopathology.

Emotion dysregulation and symptoms of anxiety and depression in early adolescence: Bidirectional longitudinal associations and the antecedent role of parent–child attachment

“…Between T1 and T2, there was a 6.0% attrition (n = 32) of participants, and between T2 and T3 a 1.6% attrition (n = 8). Portions of this longitudinal data set had been reported elsewhere (Hong et al, 2022;Poh, et al, 2021); however, the research questions addressed in this article were novel. This study has received ethics approval from an Institutional Review Board.…”

Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury: comparisons of the psychological correlates and suicidal presentations across diagnostic subgroups

“…On the other hand, more vulnerabilities and impairment associated with additive PTSD to depression were not evident across psychological correlates of NSSI, with differences between the NSSI + depression subgroup with vs. without PTSD (i.e., group C vs. B) being non-significant for the most part. An account of these results not being differentiated by PTSD may concern the internalizing-related nature of the outcome domains that were explored (e.g., negative cognitions, rumination): unlike the co-occurrence of depression with other internalizing comorbidities being largely explained by internalizing dimensions, it has been suggested that PTSD also loads on externalizing dimensions [ 39 , 78 ], which, in our investigation, could have resulted in a considerable portion of the vulnerability and impairment related to the diagnosis not being explained by the domains explored [ 79 ]. Another possibility is that both groups with comorbid NSSI and depression (i.e., groups B and C) may be sharing characteristics that are not manifested as a diagnosis of PTSD but rather in the forms of symptom presentations or features of SIB.…”

Associations Between a Transdiagnostic Core Vulnerability and Internalizing Symptoms: A Network Analysis

“…Although most, if not all cognitive vulnerabilities were originally conceptualized as disorder-specific risk factors (that is, they conferred risk for a specific mental disorder and not others), there is emerging evidence that this is the exception rather than the rule (Aldao et al, 2010;Gentes & Ruscio, 2011;McEvoy et al, 2019;Naragon-Gainey, 2010;Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000). Research has demonstrated that there is considerable overlap between these disorder-specific cognitive vulnerabilities (Hong & Cheung, 2015) and that this overlap is robustly associated with internalizing psychopathology (Hong et al, 2017;Poh et al, 2021;Schweizer, Snyder, Young, et al, 2020). This overlap points to a plausible transdiagnostic core underlying the various disorder-specific vulnerabilities (henceforth referred to as the core vulnerability).…”