EXPLORING A TRANSDIAGNOSTIC GENERAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY FACTOR: RELATIONSHIPS WITH NEGATIVE EMOTIONALITY, POSITIVE EMOTIONALITY, AND CONSTRAINT

Abstract

This study explores the role of core personality traits, positive emotionality (PEM), negative emotionality (NEM), and constraint (CON), in relation to broad dimensions of psychopathology, including general psychopathology, internalizing, and externalizing. Using the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) framework, the study tests the hypothesis that psychopathology is associated with increased NEM and decreased PEM and CON. The study further examines whether CON moderates the relationship between PEM, NEM, and psychopathological dimensions, proposing that lower levels of CON are linked to higher levels of all three dimensions.To assess these relationships, the study utilizes the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), a self-report measure that includes three higher-order dimensions associated with underlying neurobiological processes: PEM, NEM, and CON. The hypothesis is that the general psychopathology factor will be associated with a general pattern of increased NEM and decreased levels of PEM and CON, with CON moderating the effects of PEM and NEM on internalizing, externalizing, and the general psychopathology factor. The study pooled four archival datasets. Internalizing was operationalized through self-report measures of depression and anxiety, while externalizing was assessed via the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory. An estimate of the HiTOP general psychopathology factor was operationalized by the shared variance of internalizing and externalizing. Zero-order correlations examined the relationships between MPQ dimensions (PEM, NEM, CON) and HiTOP spectra (internalizing, externalizing, general psychopathology factor). Path analyses assessed the general psychopathology factor’s role in the relationships between the MPQ factors and psychopathology dimensions. Moderation analyses tested whether CON moderated the effect of PEM and NEM on these dimensions. The results supported the hypotheses, showing that the general psychopathology factor was linked to increased NEM and decreased PEM and CON. Internalizing evidenced a similar pattern for PEM and NEM, but with a significant drop in the role of CON, suggesting affect may have more impact than control for internalizing. Externalizing, on the other hand, evidenced no significant relationship to PEM, and decreases in the role of NEM and increases in the role of CON suggest COG has the strongest role in EXT (relative to INT and GP), with a prominent role of negative affect. Moderation analyses demonstrated PEM and NEM on the general psychopathology factor were moderated by CON, where higher levels of CON were associated with a significant reduction in the pattern of increased NEM and decreased PEM, predicting lower levels of externalizing and the general psychopathology factor. Notably, the interaction between NEM and CON was not significant in predicting internalizing, consistent with the significantly reduced role of CON for INT, relative to EXT and GP. These findings suggest that higher levels of constraint may contribute to more adaptive emotional functioning, which is associated with reduced externalizing and general psychopathology. By estimating the relationships between these transdiagnostic mechanisms, the present study contributes towards an understanding of how affective and control processes influence psychopathology. This framework offers new directions for research and potential targets for transdiagnostic treatments.