Correction to Moore et al. (2020)

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychopathology Research
• Quantitative Psychology

Background:

• Psychopathology is often conceptualized as a hierarchy of correlated dimensions.
• Alternative statistical models, bifactor and second-order, are used to represent these hierarchies, leading to different interpretations.
• Concerns exist regarding the reliability of specific factors in bifactor models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of specific factors in bifactor models of psychopathology.
• To compare the construct reliability and replicability of factors across bifactor and second-order models.
• To examine the associations of psychopathology dimensions with external variables using both models.

Main Methods:

• Utilized parent symptom ratings of 9-10 year olds from the ABCD Study.
• Employed psychometric analyses to assess construct reliability and factor replicability.
• Compared factor correlations and associations with external criterion variables across bifactor and second-order models.

Main Results:

• All factors in both bifactor and second-order models demonstrated adequate construct reliability and replicability.
• Factors showed moderate to high correlations across models but differed in interpretation.
• While both models identified significant associations with external variables, second-order models presented ambiguous interpretations due to shared variance.

Conclusions:

• Both bifactor and second-order models provide reliable measures of psychopathology dimensions.
• Bifactor models are optimal for research investigating unique associations with external variables due to orthogonal factors.
• Second-order models' interpretations are complicated by correlated factors, limiting clarity in understanding specific etiological or mechanistic pathways.