Executive function (EF) deficits are consistently linked to psychopathology symptoms, though the mechanisms linking poor EF to symptom expression remain unclear.

The study used the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach to examine relationships between teacher-reported latent psychopathology symptoms, including a general psychopathology factor (P-Factor), and EF in young children with emerging mental health problems. Participants were 804 children (70.8% male; aged 49–89 months) referred by their teachers for cognitive, emotional, or behavioral problems at school. To assess psychopathology, teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). EF measures included inhibition, cognitive flexibility, working memory, sustained attention, and episodic memory, assessed using the NIH Toolbox, Automated Working Memory Assessment, and the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Test battery.

Structural equation modeling (incorporating confirmatory factor analysis) showed reasonable model fit and supported a P-Factor structure. Correlational analyses explored EF–psychopathology associations, followed by a sensitivity analysis controlling for sex. We observed patterns of cognitive processes that showed inverse associations between EF performance and specific clinical problems. Sustained attention was positively associated with emotional problems but negatively associated with hyperactivity problems. Sex-stratified analyses revealed distinct patterns, with inhibition problems strongly linked to conduct and hyperactivity problems, but in females only.

The findings support poor EF as a transdiagnostic risk factor associated with incremental vulnerability for childhood psychopathology. Divergent findings for sustained attentional processes suggest they can be adaptive in some contexts but maladaptive in others. Screening for EF difficulties in children could enhance early identification and inform interventions.

Autistic traits (ATs) are associated with difficulties in social functioning, but their impact on the quantity and the quality of daily-life social interactions is not yet fully understood. Hereby, we examined the relationship between AT and daily-life social interactions in adolescents and young adults.

Data were derived from the TwinssCan cohort (N = 593). ATs were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), while the quantity and the quality of daily-life social interactions were evaluated using the Experience Sampling Methodology. Multilevel regressions were performed, with the AQ as the independent variable and each social/solitary quantity/quality variable as the dependent variable. Models were adjusted for age, sex, and general psychopathology, measured with the Symptom Checklist-90.

No significant association was found between AQ total scores and quantity of social interactions. However, AQ total scores were significantly associated with quality of social interactions. Higher ATs were associated with an increased preference to be alone (B = 0.04, 95% CI 0.01–0.07), less pleasure while in-company (B = −0.02, 95% CI −0.04 to −0.01), less feeling of safety while in-company (B = −0.02, 95% CI −0.04 to −0.002), and less feeling of belongingness (B = −0.02, 95% CI −0.03 to −0.001). ATs were differently associated with the quality of social interactions depending on the familiarity. No significant associations were found between ATs and solitary qualities.

Our findings highlight the importance of evaluating ATs during clinical assessments, especially in adolescents and young adults, to evaluate the impact on social interactions and the potential psychopathological consequences.

Substances, such as cannabis, alcohol, and nicotine, have each been associated with an increased risk of mental health concerns in adolescence. These substances are often taken concurrently and less is known about the effects of polysubstance use. We investigated the relationship between polysubstance use and psychopathology in adolescence including internalising, externalising behaviours, and psychotic experiences (PE). As a secondary analysis, we examined gender differences.

A sample of 4,404 15–16-year-old adolescents in 40 schools in Ireland was examined. Our exposure was single substance use (cannabis, alcohol, and nicotine) and polysubstance use within the past month. The outcome of interest was psychopathology, measured using the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Adolescent Psychotic Symptoms Scale. Associations were explored using mixed-effects logistic models.

Adjusted odds ratios were calculated to examine the associations between polysubstance use and each outcome, compared to substance-naive participants. A significant dose response relationship was observed, with increasing substance use associated with higher odds of general psychopathology (aOR range: 1.65–5.09), internalising behaviours (aOR range: 1.18–2.06), externalising behaviours (aOR range: 1.68–5.79), and PE (aOR range: 1.60–3.13). Females engaging in polysubstance use exhibited the poorest mental health outcomes.

This study highlights the strong associations between adolescent polysubstance use and emerging mental health problems. The findings reinforce the need for mental health services to take polysubstance use into consideration during intervention. Tailored public health messaging is required, acknowledging polysubstance use as a marker for poor mental health among adolescents and young adults.

Mental health encompasses subjective well-being (SWB) as well as psychopathology (PP). SWB and PP are related but separate domains: some individuals experience high SWB despite high PP, and others experience low SWB despite minimal PP. Given substantial and heterogeneous developmental changes in both domains during adolescence, examining their co-developmental trajectories may clarify how they integrate across this period.

Using data from the Tokyo Teen Cohort (N = 2994), a population-based prospective birth cohort study, we conducted parallel process latent class growth analysis to cluster SWB–PP trajectories at ages 10, 12, 14, and 16 years. We then investigated various sociodemographic, individual, familial, and socioenvironmental correlates for each class.

We identified four distinct classes: high SWB–low PP (55.0%), high SWB–mid PP (20.2%), low SWB–mid PP (17.0%), and mid SWB–high PP (7.7%). SWB declined from ages 10 to 16 years across all four classes. Lower PP did not necessarily correspond to higher SWB, and in some pairs of classes, the relationship between SWB and PP levels was reversed. When comparing the two classes with moderate PP, higher aspirations, more prosocial behavior, and better interpersonal relationships were associated with the high SWB class. In contrast, being female and having a higher household income were associated with the low SWB class.

Discrepant SWB–PP trajectories suggest characteristic patterns of developmental integration between these domains during adolescence. Considering their interplay may complement domain-specific approaches and inform psychosocial supports aimed at maintaining SWB even in the presence of PP.

Formal thought disorder (FTD), characterized by disruptions in the flow and form of thought, is a core feature of psychosis. But its measurement is fragmented across numerous rating scales, leading to its continued neglect in both research and clinical practice. To determine if different FTD scales measure the same underlying construct, we need to assess the degree to which the content of commonly used FTD scales overlaps with each other.

We conducted a systematic review to identify all standardized, clinician-rated scales used to measure FTD in psychotic disorders. From this set, we extracted individual items and derived a consensus list of 56 discrete FTD phenomena. Two independent clinical experts conducted item-to-item mapping for every scale item onto these FTD phenomena. Content overlap between scales was quantified using Jaccard Similarity Index (JSI). We determined the overall coverage achieved via several combinations of FTD scales.

The 15 scales, comprising 207 items, showed weak content overlap. The mean JSI across all scale pairs was low, and no single phenomenon featured across all scales. While some core FTD phenomena (e.g. ‘incoherence’, ‘poor speech content’, ‘drifting-off’) were represented in many scales, 20% of all identified features were idiosyncratic, appearing in only one scale.

Existing FTD rating scales capture a wide but heterogeneous array of symptoms with poor content overlap. This lack of harmonization challenges the comparability of mechanistic and interventional studies. We highlight the need for a consensus-based, standardized measurement of FTD and provide a comprehensive checklist to advance the research and clinical practice.

The development of psychopathology during childhood and adolescence is complex and likely to follow diverse patterns. Mapping trajectories of psychopathological difficulties may improve our understanding of the nature of emerging, resolving and persistent psychopathology. The purpose of this study is to examine trajectories of psychopathology throughout childhood and adolescence by examining multiple data sources, including questionnaire-based reports of emotional and behavioural difficulties, psychiatric diagnoses and prescribed psychotropic medications.

Group-based multi-trajectory modelling was used to identify the psychopathological trajectories. This study included 49,361 full-term live-born singleton children born between 1996 and 2003, recruited into the Danish National Birth Cohort. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire data were collected when the children/adolescents were 7, 11 and 18 years old. Annual information about psychiatric diagnoses and redeemed prescriptions for psychotropic medication was retrieved from nationwide registries between the ages of 1 and 18. We included six predefined dimensions to identify the trajectories: internalizing behavioural problems, externalizing behavioural problems, neurodevelopmental diagnoses, affective diagnoses, mixed psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications.

Six distinct trajectory groups were identified for both boys and girls. Approximately 6% of the boys and 8% of the girls receive the bulk of the psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medications. We found no support for ‘pure’ internalizing or externalizing patterns in any identified trajectory, as problems in one dimension often indicated the presence of problems in another dimension.

Our results demonstrate substantial psychiatric comorbidity and add new insights to the understanding of child and adolescent well-being and the complex patterns of developmental psychopathology.

The comorbidity of psychiatric and metabolic conditions is prevalent and poses a heavy burden on public health. Several biopsychosocial factors are known to influence both metabolic and psychiatric health, including inflammation, eating behavior, physical activity, and early life stress. Few studies, however, have examined the constellation of interrelationships among multiple risk domains simultaneously.

Using a sample of 200 medically healthy adults enrolled in a parent study, we used Gaussian Graphical Modeling, a type of network analysis, to characterize interdependent cross-sectional associations between early life stress (childhood trauma), health behaviors (diet quality and physical activity), blood-based biomarkers of metabolic functioning (insulin resistance, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides) and inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP]), and three domains of mental health symptoms (depressive, anxious, and post-traumatic stress symptoms). We hypothesized that the network structure would highlight a pattern whereby higher CRP, poorer diet quality, lower physical activity, and higher childhood trauma would associate with increased risk for both metabolic and psychiatric impairments.

Findings revealed a positive conditional association between CRP and childhood trauma, which may function as an intermediary process to increase risk for both metabolic impairments and psychiatric symptoms in adulthood. Further, higher physical activity was associated with lower insulin resistance and fewer depressive symptoms, and better diet quality was associated with lower CRP levels.

Results highlight potential avenues for interventions aimed at reducing inflammation, improving health behavior, and addressing the effects of childhood trauma to improve physical and mental health comorbidities.

Language impairments are common in affective and psychotic disorders, yet their patterns and underlying pathomechanisms remain insufficiently understood. A transdiagnostic perspective provides a framework for identifying shared and disorder-specific language alterations across diagnostic boundaries. Combining natural language processing (NLP) with network analysis enables the investigation of complex associations between linguistic, cognitive, and psychopathological features.

Spontaneous speech from N = 372 participants (119 MDD, 27 BD, 48 SSD and 178 HC) was elicited using four Thematic Apperception Test pictures (~12 min per participant). NLP models were applied to extract latent linguistic variables across various levels, including lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, semantic coherence, and disfluencies. Network analysis was used to relate linguistic variables, psychopathology (SAPS, SANS, HAM-A, HAM-D, YMRS, TLI, GAF), and cognitive performance (attention, verbal memory, recognition, and verbal fluency).

Linguistic variables formed the densest network cluster, with type–token ratio, mean length of utterance, and syntactic complexity emerging as central nodes. Psychopathology variables were less cohesive, while TLI “Impoverishment”, coherence mean, and executive functioning bridged linguistic, cognitive, and psychopathological domains. Network comparison tests revealed no significant differences in linguistic–cognitive network structure across HC, MDD, BD, and SSD.

Linguistic networks show high structural consistency across healthy individuals and patients, whereas psychopathological symptom networks reflect transdiagnostic profiles. These findings support a dimensional and transdiagnostic framework underscore shared language–cognition mechanisms, and highlight executive functioning as key cross-domain connection, which opens up new avenues for dimensional research into the pathophysiological and etiological mechanisms underlying language dysfunctions.