P-Factor(s) for Youth Psychopathology Across Informants and Models in 24 Societies

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Quantitative Psychology

Background:

• The general factor of psychopathology (p) is increasingly recognized for its significance.
• However, optimal methods for operationalizing and measuring p remain unclear.
• This study addresses the need for practical recommendations for p assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare variations in the operationalizations of the general factor of psychopathology (p).
• To provide practical recommendations for the assessment of p.
• To evaluate four different models for measuring p.

Main Methods:

• Compared p-factor scores derived from principal axis, hierarchical factor, and bifactor analyses, alongside a Total Problem score.
• Utilized parent- and self-rated youth psychopathology data from 24 societies (N=25,643).
• Analyzed Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) data for 11-18-year-olds.

Main Results:

• High correlations (.973-.994) were found between p-scores across all four models.
• Cross-informant correlations between parent and self-ratings were consistently similar across models.
• Rank orders of item-p correlations showed strong agreement between models (Q-correlations .957-.993).

Conclusions:

• The consistency across models suggests the simplest approach, the Total Problem score, is a valid measure of p.
• This simplified measurement of p can advance the field toward understanding transdiagnostic patterns of problems.
• The findings support the use of the Total Problem score for clinical and research assessment of youth psychopathology.