TY - JOUR
T1 - The p factor of psychopathology and personality in middle childhood
T2 - Genetic and gestational risk factors
AU - Gjerde, Line C.
AU - Eilertsen, Espen Moen
AU - McAdams, Tom A.
AU - Cheesman, Rosa
AU - Moffitt, Terrie E.
AU - Caspi, Avshalom
AU - Eley, Thalia C.
AU - Roysamb, Espen
AU - Rosenström, Tom H.
AU - Ystrom, Eivind
N1 - Funding Information:
The work was supported by a grant from the Medicine, Health Sciences and Biology Programme at the Norwegian Research Council (Grant Numbers 231105, 262177 and 288083). TE is part-funded by a program grant from the UK Medical Research Council (MR/V012878/1), and by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the Biomedical Research Centre at South London, Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. TAM is supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (Grant Number 220382/Z/20/Z). TR is supported by the Academy of Finland (Grant Numbers 334057 and 335901). ER is supported by the Norwegian Research Council (grant 320709 and 31483). The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Education and Research. We are grateful to all the participating families in Norway who take part in this on-going cohort study.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.
PY - 2023/7/10
Y1 - 2023/7/10
N2 - Background A joint, hierarchical structure of psychopathology and personality has been reported in adults but should also be investigated at earlier ages, as psychopathology often develops before adulthood. Here, we investigate the joint factor structure of psychopathology and personality in eight-year-old children, estimate factor heritability and explore external validity through associations with established developmental risk factors. Methods Phenotypic and biometric exploratory factor analyses with bifactor rotation on genetically informative data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort (MoBa) study. The analytic sub-sample comprised 10 739 children (49% girls). Mothers reported their children's symptoms of depression (Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire), anxiety (Screen for Anxiety Related Disorders), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattention and hyperactivity, oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder (Parent/Teacher Rating Scale for Disruptive Behavior Disorders), and Big Five personality (short Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children). Developmental risk factors (early gestational age and being small for gestational age) were collected from the Medical Birth Registry. Results Goodness-of-fit indices favored a p factor model with three residual latent factors interpreted as negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and antagonism, whereas psychometric indices favored a one-factor model. ADE solutions fitted best, and regression analyses indicated a negative association between gestational age and the p factor, for both the one- and four-factor solutions. Conclusion Correlations between normative and pathological traits in middle childhood mostly reflect one heritable and psychometrically interpretable p factor, although optimal fit to data required less interpretable residual latent factors. The association between the p factor and low gestational age warrants further study of early developmental mechanisms.
AB - Background A joint, hierarchical structure of psychopathology and personality has been reported in adults but should also be investigated at earlier ages, as psychopathology often develops before adulthood. Here, we investigate the joint factor structure of psychopathology and personality in eight-year-old children, estimate factor heritability and explore external validity through associations with established developmental risk factors. Methods Phenotypic and biometric exploratory factor analyses with bifactor rotation on genetically informative data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort (MoBa) study. The analytic sub-sample comprised 10 739 children (49% girls). Mothers reported their children's symptoms of depression (Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire), anxiety (Screen for Anxiety Related Disorders), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattention and hyperactivity, oppositional-defiant disorder, conduct disorder (Parent/Teacher Rating Scale for Disruptive Behavior Disorders), and Big Five personality (short Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children). Developmental risk factors (early gestational age and being small for gestational age) were collected from the Medical Birth Registry. Results Goodness-of-fit indices favored a p factor model with three residual latent factors interpreted as negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and antagonism, whereas psychometric indices favored a one-factor model. ADE solutions fitted best, and regression analyses indicated a negative association between gestational age and the p factor, for both the one- and four-factor solutions. Conclusion Correlations between normative and pathological traits in middle childhood mostly reflect one heritable and psychometrically interpretable p factor, although optimal fit to data required less interpretable residual latent factors. The association between the p factor and low gestational age warrants further study of early developmental mechanisms.
KW - behavior genetics
KW - factor analysis
KW - internalizing and externalizing behavior problems
KW - MoBa
KW - p factor
KW - psychiatric comorbidity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152235249&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0033291723000077
DO - 10.1017/S0033291723000077
M3 - Article
C2 - 36762420
AN - SCOPUS:85152235249
SN - 0033-2917
VL - 53
SP - 4275
EP - 4285
JO - Psychological Medicine
JF - Psychological Medicine
IS - 9
ER -