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Prospective Prediction of Depression and Anxiety by Integrating Negative Emotionality and Cognitive Vulnerabilities in Children and Adolescents

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Abstract

Negative emotionality (NE) and multiple cognitive vulnerabilities (CVs) (negative inferential style, brooding, self-criticism, dependency, dysfunctional attitudes) independently predict internalizing outcomes. The present study examined whether NE and CVs could be structurally integrated into a common factor reflecting shared variance across risks, and specific factors reflecting unique variance in risks. We evaluated the validity and utility of this integrated model via prospective prediction of future depression and anxiety compared to alternative models (NE and CVs individually, a correlated factor model). Youth from a large community sample (N = 571; M = 13.58 years old; 55% girls, 44% boys) reported on NE and CVs. Depression and anxiety symptoms based on youth report, and disorder onset based on youth and caregiver diagnostic interviews were assessed over a 1½ years follow-up. Results supported a structural model including a general NE-CV dimension and specific dimensions for NE, common cognitive risk, negative inferential style, and brooding; model invariance was obtained from late childhood through late adolescence and for girls and boys. The integrated general NE-CV factor more consistently and strongly predicted future depressive (β = 0.58) and anxiety (β = 0.56) symptoms, and onsets of depression (OR = 1.81) and anxiety (OR = 2.23) relative to NE and CV risk dimensions across alternative models (ps < .01). The general NE-CV dimension represents an important means to efficiently represent transdiagnostic risk for internalizing outcomes among youth.

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The data is not available to the public as it contains confidential mental health information of participants.

Notes

  1. We utilize different terms for our measurement model of NE and CVs in the present study than Zinbarg and colleagues (2016) in order to represent differences across studies in terms of conceptualization and interpretation. Zinbarg and colleagues (2016) refer to their model as a “hierarchical model of neuroticism with cognitive facets” and refer to the common factor as the “general neuroticism factor.” In the present study, we refer to the model as an “integrated model of negative emotionality-cognitive vulnerabilities (NE-CV)” and the general dimension as the “general NE-CV factor” in order to stimulate future conceptual and empirical work on what these dimensions may represent.

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Funding

The research reported in this article was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH077195, R01MH077178).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA

    Tina H. Schweizer & Benjamin L. Hankin

  2. Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, USA

    Hannah R. Snyder

  3. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA

    Jami F. Young

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  1. Tina H. Schweizer
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  2. Hannah R. Snyder
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  3. Jami F. Young
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  4. Benjamin L. Hankin
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Correspondence to Tina H. Schweizer.

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Schweizer, T.H., Snyder, H.R., Young, J.F. et al. Prospective Prediction of Depression and Anxiety by Integrating Negative Emotionality and Cognitive Vulnerabilities in Children and Adolescents. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 49, 1607–1621 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-021-00839-4

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