Transdiagnostic and symptom-domain associations between mental illnesses and future self-connectedness versus future...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychopathology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Future time perspective (FTP) dimensions are associated with various mental illnesses.
• Mental illnesses often co-occur, necessitating research into shared versus specific psychopathology links with FTP.
• Understanding these associations is crucial for developing transdiagnostic mental health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the associations between dimensions of mental illness and two key FTP components: future self-connectedness and future self-valence.
• To disentangle shared versus symptom-domain-specific psychopathology related to FTP constructs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from Wave 8 of the Zurich Project on Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood study (N=1180, mean age ≈ 20).
• Conducted factor analysis to establish an optimal factor structure for psychopathology data.
• Examined associations between mental illness dimensions and future self-connectedness and future self-valence using an S-1 bifactor specification.

Main Results:

• Both future self-connectedness and future self-valence were negatively associated with internalizing dimensions.
• These FTP components also showed negative associations with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, psychosis-like dimensions, and substance use.
• A negative association was observed with an S-1 aggression factor.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest that future self-connectedness and future self-valence have transdiagnostic relevance in psychopathology.
• The results are preliminary due to single-item measurements and limited construct coverage.
• Replication with more comprehensive measures is recommended to validate these associations.