Multidimensional apathy: A simple and inclusive clinical marker of youth mental health-A longitudinal study

Early identification of youth at risk for psychiatric disorders is crucial to reducing the global mental health burden. This study explores whether multidimensional apathy phenotypes predict transitions to depressive or psychotic disorders in youth and could serve as clinical markers.

A 4.5-year longitudinal study followed 470 young adults via online surveys assessing socio-demographic, medical, educational, and functional characteristics, alongside validated measures of apathy, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and motivation. Binary logistic regressions identified predictors of depressive and psychotic disorders, and Chi-squared tests examined apathy stability over time.

Depressive disorders were predicted by subclinical depressive symptoms (β = 5.672; p < 2.3 × 10^-6), executive apathy (β = 2.229; p < 0.03), lower independence (β = -1.867; p < 0.07), alcohol consumption (β = 2.128; p < 0.06), and medical comorbidities (β = 1.899; p < 0.03, accuracy: 91.47 %). Psychotic disorders were predicted by low self-esteem (β = -0.19; p < 3.9 × 10^-8), emotional apathy (β = 1.83; p < 0.006), absence of anxiety (β = -2.22; p < 0.003), psychoactive drug use (β = 1.13; p < 0.002), and family psychiatric history (β = 1.505; p < 0.03, accuracy: 76.81 %). Emotional and executive apathy showed strong temporal stability between 2020 and 2024 (p < 2.2 × 10^-16).

Executive and emotional apathy predict transitions to depression and psychosis, respectively, at 4,5 years, supporting multidimensional apathy as a potential inclusive and easy-to-implement clinical marker for youth mental health.