Is Poor Working Memory a Transdiagnostic Risk Factor for Psychopathology?

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Psychological disorders are increasingly understood as dimensional rather than categorical.
• Co-morbidity is extensive, necessitating research into common liability factors.
• The NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework encourages study of transdiagnostic constructs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate working memory deficits as a cognitive liability for psychopathology.
• To examine the association between working memory and internalizing, externalizing, and general psychopathology factors.
• To explore the specificity of working memory deficits in relation to externalizing symptom dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Latent variable Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed.
• A bi-factor model analyzed parent reports (DISC-4, BASC-2) from 415 children (ages 8-12).
• A latent working memory factor predicted internalizing, externalizing, and general psychopathology ('p-factor').

Main Results:

• Working memory deficits were significantly associated with the general psychopathology ('p-factor') and the externalizing factor.
• Working memory was specifically correlated with the general externalizing dimension, not specific sub-factors (inattention, hyperactivity, oppositionality) after controlling for the general factor.
• These associations were consistent across both sexes.

Conclusions:

• Working memory deficits represent a common cognitive liability across various mental health disorders.
• Working memory deficits are a specific liability for externalizing disorders in children.
• Findings support a dimensional approach to psychopathology and highlight working memory's role in its development.