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Structure of Psychopathology in Romanian Preschool-Aged Children in an Epidemiological and a High-Risk Sample
Katherine L Guyon-Harris1, André Plamondon1, Kathryn L Humphreys1
1Dr. Guyon-Harris is with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Drs. Plamondon and Wade are with the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Plamondon is also with Université Laval, Quebec, Canada. Drs. Humphreys, Gleason, and Zeanah are with Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Humphreys is also with Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Gleason is also with Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Tibu is with Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Suceava, Romania. Dr. Nelson is with Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Harvard Graduate School of Education, Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Fox is with the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland.
Objective:
Research on bifactor models of psychopathology in early childhood is limited to community samples with little longitudinal follow-up. We examined general and specific forms of psychopathology within 2 independent samples of preschool-aged Romanian children. Within a sample with children exposed to psychosocial deprivation, we also examined antecedents and longitudinal outcomes of the general factor.
Method:
One sample consisted of 350 Romanian children (mean age = 39.7 months, SD = 10.9) from an epidemiological study; the second sample consisted of 170 Romanian children (mean age = 55.6 months, SD = 1.9) exposed to severe early-life deprivation, as well as community comparison children, with longitudinal follow-up at 8 and 12 years. Psychopathology symptoms were assessed through caregiver-reported structured clinical interviews.
Results:
An SI-1 bifactor model of psychopathology was supported in both samples and included specific factors for externalizing, internalizing, and disturbed relatedness symptoms. In the second sample, longer duration of psychosocial deprivation and lower-quality caregiving were associated with higher scores on the general and all specific factors. Higher scores on the general factor were associated with later cognitive function, competence, and psychopathology symptoms. Considering all factors together, only the general factor explained variance in later childhood outcomes and was slightly stronger compared to a total symptom count for some, but not all, outcomes.
Conclusion:
General psychopathology in early childhood explains meaningful variance in child outcomes across multiple domains of functioning in later childhood. However, important questions remain regarding its clinical utility and usefulness, given complex measurement and limited explanatory power beyond the more accessible approach of a total symptom count.
Clinical Trial Registration Information:
The Bucharest Early Intervention Project; https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00747396.
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