Paper
The structure of common and uncommon mental disorders
Published May 21, 2012 · K. Forbush, D. Watson
Psychological Medicine
105
Citations
4
Influential Citations
Abstract
Background Co-morbidity patterns in epidemiological studies of mental illness consistently demonstrate that a latent internalizing factor accounts for co-morbidity patterns among unipolar mood and anxiety disorders, whereas a latent externalizing factor underlies the covariation of substance-use disorders and antisocial behaviors. However, this structure needs to be extended to include a broader range of disorders. Method Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the structure of co-morbidity using data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Surveys (n = 16 233). Results In the best-fitting model, eating and bipolar disorders formed subfactors within internalizing, impulse control disorders were indicators of externalizing, and factor-analytically derived personality disorder scales split between internalizing and externalizing. Conclusions This was the first large-scale nationally representative study that has included uncommon mental disorders with sufficient power to examine their fit within a structural model of psychopathology. The results of this study have important implications for conceptualizing myriad mental disorders.
Observational Study
Very Rigorous Journal
Highly CitedThis study found that eating and bipolar disorders fit within an internalizing factor, impulse control disorders fit within an externalizing factor, and personality disorders split between internalizing and externalizing factors.
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