Abstract
Executive function (EF) deficits have been proposed as transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology, and recent research suggests EF impairments are associated with what is shared across forms of psychopathology (p factor). However, most research has not employed methods that differentiate between EF components, and little is known about the mediating mechanisms linking EF and psychopathology dimensions. The current study tested associations between the latent unity/diversity model of EF and latent dimensions of psychopathology and investigated mediating mechanisms in a community sample of 292 youth age 13–22. The results confirmed the finding that poor EF is associated with internalizing psychopathology in older youth via higher dependent stress and rumination, and showed that this pathway was transdiagnostic, predicting the p factor rather than internalizing specifically. Links with psychopathology were specific to the common EF factor, rather than updating- or shifting-specific EF.
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Notes
Bloemen et al. (2018) also used a bifactor model, putatively of EF, but it included multiple components that fall outside the unity/diversity model, several of which are not generally considered components of EF (processing speed, pattern search, sustained attention), making the results difficult to interpret purely in terms of EF.
There were no significant differences on any study measure between those that completed questionnaires prior to or at the end of their visit.
It has also been suggested that EF and stress may interact, such that individuals with poorer EF engage in a more maladaptive patterns of coping with stress, increasing psychopathology risk (e.g., Compas et al. 2009). We thus tested alternative moderation models, with dependent stressful life events, common EF, and their interaction predicting (1) the internalizing factor in the internalizing only model, and (2) all three psychopathology factors in the bifactor model. We did not find any significant interactions between dependent stressful life events and common EF in association with any of the psychopathology factors (ps > 0.4), and there were no significant interactions for either younger or older youth. This does not preclude the possibility that EF may affect specific stress coping mechanisms (e.g., reappraisal, e.g., Cohen and Mor 2017), which is an important area of continuing research.
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This research and preparation of this manuscript were supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (R21MH102210 B.L.H., H.R.S. & N.P.F; R01MH063207 N.P.F; F32MH098481 H.R.S).
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This research and preparation of this manuscript were supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (R21MH102210; R01MH063207; F32MH09848).
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Snyder, H.R., Friedman, N.P. & Hankin, B.L. Transdiagnostic Mechanisms of Psychopathology in Youth: Executive Functions, Dependent Stress, and Rumination. Cogn Ther Res 43, 834–851 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-10016-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-019-10016-z