Transdiagnostic Network Mapping of Psychopathology in Daily Life: Rationale and Research Protocol

The burden of mental health problems and the need for more effective interventions is well established. One path towards treatment improvement involves more effective (evidence-based) tailoring, which requires a deeper understanding of differences in individual profiles of psychopathology. The network approach to mental disorders has emerged as a promising framework in this regard, as it sees and assesses psychopathology as individual networks of interacting symptoms and other variables and uses analysis methods that allow fine-grained analyses of (differences in) individual processes.

We describe the protocol of a 6-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study in a broad clinical population, designed to capture various transdiagnostic psychopathology relevant states. Participants are Dutch adults (desired = 600) who are currently awaiting intake- or start of treatment for psychopathology. In addition to EMA self-reports, we collect digital phenotyping data, a broad range of baseline data on symptomatology and transdiagnostic traits, and diagnostic classifications after intake. The study's primary aims are to estimate individual- and group networks of psychopathology (identifying), explore what factors can explain individual differences in networks (linking), and identify potential subgroups based on the networks (clustering). Finally, we plan to evaluate the measures and procedures to facilitate future transdiagnostic EMA (network) research.

The prospective study findings have the potential to advance the description, prediction, and assessment of psychopathology and to evaluate the utility of the network framework in achieving these aims. The insights gained may facilitate the evaluation and refinement of current classifications of mental health conditions and alternative transdiagnostic approaches.