ABSTRACT

Objective

This study tested two opposing hypotheses on the continuity of psychopathology throughout adolescence and young adulthood; differentiation versus dynamic mutualism. Differentiation predicts that co-occurrence decreases, while dynamic mutualism predicts that co-occurrence increases due to causal interactions amongst mental health problems.

Method

Using data from the Dutch TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (n = 2228, 51% female), we studied the development of self-reported internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems at ages 11 to 26 across six waves. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling was employed to distinguish within-person development from stable between-person processes.

Results

Large stable between-person associations indicated that adolescents with internalizing problems tended to have both externalizing and attention problems as well. On a within-person level, mental health problems showed partial stability and strong cross-sectional co-occurrence. Within-wave associations of internalizing with externalizing or attention problems decreased between age 11 and 16 years, after which they increased again. Little heterotypic continuity was found: age 11 externalizing predicted age 13 attention, which in turn predicted age 16 externalizing problems, and internalizing predicted externalizing problems across ages 22 to 26. Findings were similar for males and females.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest co-occurrence decreases during early and middle adolescence, supporting differentiation. While co-occurrence increased again into young adulthood, this could not be labeled as dynamic mutualism because little evidence for heterotypic continuity was found in this phase of life. The strong stable links between internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems stress the importance of targeting these mental health problems and their shared risk factors together.

中文翻译：

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精神病理学在整个青春期和青年期的连续性

摘要

客观的

这项研究测试了关于精神病理学在整个青春期和青年期的连续性的两个相反的假设。差异化与动态共生。分化预测共现减少，而动态共生预测由于心理健康问题之间的因果相互作用，共现增加。

方法

使用来自荷兰追踪青少年个人生活调查的数据（n = 2228，51% 女性），我们研究了 11 至 26 岁在六次浪潮中自我报告的内化、外化和注意力问题的发展。采用随机截距交叉滞后面板建模来区分人内发展与稳定的人间过程。

结果

大型稳定的人与人之间的关联表明，有内化问题的青少年往往同时存在外化和注意力问题。在个人层面上，心理健康问题表现出部分稳定性和强烈的横断面共同发生。内化与外化或注意力问题的内波关联在 11 至 16 岁之间减少，之后再次增加。几乎没有发现异型连续性：11 岁外化预测 13 岁注意，这反过来又预测 16 岁外化问题，内化预测 22 至 26 岁的外化问题。男性和女性的研究结果相似。

结论

我们的研究结果表明，在青春期早期和中期同时出现减少，支持分化。虽然共同发生在年轻的成年期再次增加，但这不能被称为动态共生，因为在这个生命阶段几乎没有发现异型连续性的证据。内化、外化和注意力问题之间强有力的稳定联系强调了同时针对这些心理健康问题及其共同风险因素的重要性。