Within-person analysis of developmental cascades between externalising and internalising problems

Area of Science:

• Developmental psychology
• Child and adolescent mental health
• Quantitative psychology

Background:

• Previous research often uses cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) to study externalizing-to-internalizing problem cascades.
• CLPMs conflate within-person and between-person effects, potentially misrepresenting developmental processes.
• Developmental models often describe within-person changes, which CLPMs struggle to isolate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate externalizing-to-internalizing problem cascades at the within-person level.
• To differentiate between within-person and between-person effects in developmental trajectories.
• To compare the utility of autoregressive latent trajectory models with structured residuals (ALT-SR) against CLPMs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized eight waves of data from the Zurich Project on Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso) (ages 7-15).
• Employed autoregressive latent trajectory models with structured residuals (ALT-SR) to analyze within-person processes.
• Disaggregated between- and within-person effects to clarify developmental cascades.

Main Results:

• ALT-SR models demonstrated a better fit than CLPMs.
• Evidence for externalizing-to-internalizing cascades was found, aligning with prior CLPM research.
• ALT-SR revealed effects not seen in CLPMs, including a negative adolescent effect of externalizing on internalizing problems, and a reciprocal negative effect between internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence.

Conclusions:

• Within-person findings largely corroborate previous CLPM evidence on developmental cascades.
• The study highlights that externalizing and internalizing problems may mutually negatively influence each other during adolescence at the within-person level.
• ALT-SR models offer a more nuanced understanding of within-person developmental dynamics compared to traditional CLPMs.