Shuffling through hierarchies in developmental psychopathology: Commentary on Caspi et al. (2026)

Caspi et al. (see record 2026-80066-001) use the metaphor of "a deck of cards" in their work to describe psychopathology over the lifespan-specifically, how an individual's experience of psychopathology can change across development (both changing between different disorders and different presentations of the same diagnosis). Yet mental health research typically fragments these trajectories: Cross-sectional studies examine discrete time points, whereas longitudinal studies often track isolated disorders. Neither captures the dynamic, multidiagnostic life course patterns that Caspi et al. document. For example, someone may demonstrate anxious symptoms in adolescence, depressive symptoms in early adulthood, substance abuse in midlife, and psychosis symptoms even later in life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).