Empirical Support for a Dual Process Model of the P-Factor: Interaction Effects Between Preschool Executive Control and Preschool Negative Emotionality on General Psychopathology

• Published in: Journal of psychopathology and clinical science Vol. 131; no. 8; pp. 817 - 829
• Main Authors: Phillips, Eric M., Brock, Rebecca L., James, Tiffany D., Nelson, Jennifer Mize, Espy, Kimberly Andrews, Nelson, Timothy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-11-2022
• Subjects: Child Psychopathology; Cognitive Control; Construct Validity; Dual Process Models; Elementary schools; Emotionality; Executive control; Executive Function - physiology; Female; General factor; Human; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Meaning; Mental Disorders; Negative Emotions; Prevention programs; Psychopathology; Schools; Structural equation modeling; executive control; construct validity; p-factor; negative emotionality; general factor of psychopathology
• ISSN: 2769-7541; 2769-755X; 2769-755X
• DOI: 10.1037/abn0000777

Recent work indicates that a general factor, often referred to as the p-factor, underlies nearly all forms of psychopathology. Although the criterion validity and utility of this general factor have been well supported, questions remain about the substantive meaning of the p-factor. The purpose of the present longitudinal study was to empirically test the hypothesis that the p-factor reflects dysregulation arising from a combination of high dispositional negative emotionality and low executive control. The current study examined preschool executive control, measured using a battery of 9 developmentally appropriate executive control tasks, as a moderator of the association between preschool negative emotionality and both concurrent and subsequent levels of general psychopathology in preschool and elementary school using a community sample (N = 497). Latent moderated structural equation models demonstrated that preschool executive control significantly moderated the associations between preschool negative emotionality and general psychopathology both in preschool and approximately 5 years later in elementary school. These results suggest that the general factor of psychopathology may reflect dysregulation arising from a tendency to experience high negative affect, without sufficient executive control to effectively down-regulate that affect. This work has important implications for identifying transdiagnostic targets for prevention and intervention efforts, as well as furthering understanding of the substantive meaning and construct validity of the general factor of psychopathology.
General Scientific Summary
The substantive meaning of the general factor of psychopathology (p-factor) is a matter of significant debate. The present study finds support for the hypothesis that the p-factor reflects emotion dysregulation arising from a combination of high negative emotionality and low executive control.