Processing Speed is Related to the General Psychopathology Factor in Youth

Abstract

The relationship between the p factor and cognition in youth has largely focused on general cognition (IQ) and executive functions (EF). Another cognitive construct, processing speed (PS), is dissociable from IQ and EF, but has received less research attention despite being related to many different mental health symptoms. The present sample included 795 youth, ages 11–16 from the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center (CLDRC) sample. Confirmatory factor analyses tested multiple p factor models, with the primary model being a second-order, multi-reporter p factor. We then tested the correlation between the p factor and a latent PS factor. There was a significant, negative correlation between the p factor and PS (r(87) = -0.42, p < .001), indicating that slower processing speed is associated with higher general mental health symptoms. This association is stronger than previously reported associations with IQ or EF. This finding was robust across models that used different raters (youth and caregiver) and modeling approaches (second-order vs. bifactor). Our findings indicate that PS is related to general psychopathology symptoms. This research points to processing speed as an important transdiagnostic construct that warrants further exploration across development.

Domain-specific associations between psychopathology and neurocognitive functioning

“…Our results are consistent with extensive literature demonstrating a relationship between general psychopathology ('p') and cognition (Bloemen et al, 2018;Brislin et al, 2022;Caspi et al, 2014;Castellanos-Ryan et al, 2016;Kramer et al, 2023;Martel et al, 2017;Romer & Pizzagalli, 2021). However, our analyses revealed that only the complex cognition domain was associated with general psychopathology.…”

“…Difference in results may reflect different definitions of cognitive constructs. Kramer et al (2023) found that higher overall psychopathology was linked to poorer performance on processing speed tasks. However, certain tasks in their battery measure aspects of complex cognition.…”

“…Despite extensive research on neurocognitive functioning in mental health disorders, few studies have examined associations among broad sets of cognitive domains and psychopathology symptom dimensions. Studies of transdiagnostic samples focused on associations with single cognitive domains: executive functioning (Bloemen et al, 2018;Demetriou et al, 2021Demetriou et al, , 2018Romer & Pizzagalli, 2021;Shanmugan et al, 2016;White et al, 2017), processing speed (Kramer, Willcutt, Peterson, Pennington, & McGrath, 2023), or social cognition . Other studies have evaluated a broad range of cognitive domains and dimensional psychopathology but used DSM-based categorical diagnoses as inclusion criteria (Chavez-Baldini et al, 2023;Merikangas et al, 2017;Service et al, 2020;Zhu et al, 2019).…”

“…Other transdiagnostic research has examined cognitive functioning across limited psychopathology dimensions, such as internalizing, externalizing, or attention deficit symptomatology (Bloemen et al, 2018;Brislin et al, 2022). Most studies in youth have focused on associations between psychopathology and global cognition or executive function (Demetriou et al, 2021;Kramer et al, 2023;Romer & Pizzagalli, 2021;White et al, 2017), limiting the ability to identify neurocognitive correlates of psychopathology phenotypes. A better understanding is needed regarding the nature of neurocognitive deficits, both shared and unique, across psychopathology dimensions.…”

“P factor” could open an important window on core attributes of mental health maladies

“…These could include basic cognitive processing speed. Research led by Lauren McGrath at the University of Denver published earlier this year found that slower processing speed was associated with general mental health symptoms in a group of nearly 800 young people with learning disabilities ( 3 ). Individuals with higher levels of p also tend to fare less well on tests requiring attention, concentration, and mental control, as well as visual-perceptual processing speed and visual-motor coordination, Caspi points out.…”