Benjamin B. Lahey’s research while affiliated with University of Chicago and other places

The effects of serial order of presentation on parent ratings of items referring to the behavior of their children were examined using two scales measuring dispositions and psychopathology that were administered to a representative sample of 1,358 4–17 year olds. Items within each scale were pseudo-randomized instead of being grouped according to the constructs they were written to measure. Each scale was presented in either forward or reverse serial order, with parents who were unaware of all hypotheses being randomly selected for forward or reverse order of administration. In both the disposition and psychopathology scales, the same items were rated significantly differently depending on the order of presentation to the raters; ratings declined in magnitude as the parents rated increasing numbers of items. Although parent ratings presumably partly reflect the behavior of their children, they are biased by robust order effects. The unbiased counter-balancing of items in scale construction and the use of randomized forward versus reverse orders of scale administrations can be used to minimize extraneous order effects.

Traditional mental health diagnoses rely on symptom-based classifications. Yet this approach can oversimplify clinical presentations as diagnoses often do not adequately map onto neurobiological features. Alternatively, our study used structural imaging data and a semisupervised machine learning technique, heterogeneity through discriminative analysis, to identify neurobiological subtypes in 9- to 10-year-olds with high psychopathology endorsements (n = 9,027). Our model revealed two stable neurobiological subtypes (adjusted Rand index = 0.38). Subtype 1 showed smaller structural properties, elevated conduct problems and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and impaired cognitive performance compared to Subtype 2 and typically developing youth. Subtype 2 had larger structural properties, cognitive abilities comparable to typically developing youth, and elevated internalizing symptoms relative to Subtype 1 and typically developing youth. These subtypes remained stable in their neurobiological characteristics, cognitive ability, and associated psychopathology traits over time. Taken together, our data-driven approach uncovered evidence of neural heterogeneity as demonstrated by structural patterns that map onto divergent profiles of psychopathology symptoms and cognitive performance in youth.

Background Studies suggest that prosocial behavior, having high empathy and engaging in behaviors intended to benefit others, may predict mental health or vice versa; however, these findings have been mixed. The purpose of the current study was to examine the bidirectional relationships between prosocial behavior and dimensions of psychopathology in children. Methods The relationships between prosocial behavior and four dimensions of psychopathology (general psychopathology, internalizing symptoms, conduct problems, and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms) were examined longitudinally in children 9–12 years of age from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (N = 9122). We used a random intercept cross‐lagged panel model to distinguish between stable, trait‐like (between‐person) and time‐dependent (within‐person) fluctuations across a 24‐month period. Results Between‐person results revealed that prosocial behavior was negatively associated with general psychopathology and conduct problems while being positively associated with internalizing symptoms. Within‐person results demonstrated that, out of four possible directional paths tested, one was significant. This path showed that greater general psychopathology and conduct problems at the first‐year follow‐up predicted fewer prosocial behaviors at the second‐year follow‐up, although the effect size was small. In contrast, prosocial behavior did not predict psychopathology dimensions for any year. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that prosocial behaviors have stable associations with psychopathology across preadolescence; however, evidence of a directional association in which psychopathology predicts fewer prosocial behaviors in the future was only modest.

The youth self-report version of the Child and Adolescent Dispositions Scale (CADS) measures three orthogonal temperament dimensions that are hypothesized to dispose children and adolescents to develop psychological problems through transactions with the environment. The CADS was developed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) of ratings of a pool of items from which synonyms and antonyms of DSM symptoms were excluded in two population-based samples. The criterion validity of the resulting three CADS dimensions of negative emotionality, prosociality, and daring has been well established in multiple samples. We examined the factor structure and criterion validity correlations of the CADS using data on 14.0–18.0 year olds in the English community based Neuroscience in Psychiatry 2400 Study. Using CFA, the three hypothesized CADS factors were identified, which were validated by their predicted cross-cutting correlations with measures of anxiety, depression, and conduct problems. Nonetheless, the fit of the CFA was not acceptable, likely because the expectation of simple structure in CFA was not met. The same data were re-analyzed using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to identify sources of poor fit. Two of the three fit indices suggested acceptable fit for the three-factor ESEM solution (Standardized Root Mean-Square Residual = 0.047; Root Mean-Square Error of Approximation = 0.067; Comparative Fit Index = 0.878). If replicated in other samples, these results suggest that some prosociality items with cross-loadings on more than one factor should be considered for elimination or replacement to improve the measurement of these dispositional dimensions.

Introduction Although psychotic behaviors can be difficult to assess in children, early identification of children at high risk for the emergence of psychotic symptoms may facilitate the prevention of related disorders. Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), or subthreshold thought and perceptual disturbances, could be early manifestations of psychosis that may predict a future diagnosis of a psychosis-related disorder or nonspecific correlates of a wide range of psychological problems. Additional research is needed regarding how PLEs map onto dimensions of psychopathology in children. Methods In the present study, we examined the association between PLEs and general and specific dimensions of psychological problems in a sample of 10,692 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study). Results The results of this study showed that self-reported PLEs were associated with a general psychopathology factor and an ADHD factor, which were defined in hierarchical models of parent-rated psychological problems. Discussion These findings suggest that PLEs are broadly associated with a wide range of psychological problems through the general psychopathology factor even before psychotic disorders typically manifest. This study supports the need for longitudinal analyses of future waves of the ABCD Study to determine if PLEs can detect children at high risk for serious psychological problems in adulthood.

Background We used a polygenic score for externalizing behavior (extPGS) and structural MRI to examine potential pathways from genetic liability to conduct problems via the brain across the adolescent transition. Methods Three annual assessments of child conduct problems, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity problems, and internalizing problems were conducted across across 9–13 years of age among 4,475 children of European ancestry in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). Results The extPGS predicted conduct problems in each wave (R² = 2.0%–2.9%). Bifactor models revealed that the extPRS predicted variance specific to conduct problems (R² = 1.7%–2.1%), but also variance that conduct problems shared with other measured problems (R² = .8%–1.4%). Longitudinally, extPGS predicted levels of specific conduct problems (R² = 2.0%), but not their slope of change across age. The extPGS was associated with total gray matter volume (TGMV; R² = .4%) and lower TGMV predicted both specific conduct problems (R² = 1.7%–2.1%) and the variance common to all problems in each wave (R² = 1.6%–3.1%). A modest proportion of the polygenic liability specific to conduct problems in each wave was statistically mediated by TGMV. Conclusions Across the adolescent transition, the extPGS predicted both variance specific to conduct problems and variance shared by all measured problems. The extPGS also was associated with TGMV, which robustly predicted conduct problems. Statistical mediation analyses suggested the hypothesis that polygenic variation influences individual differences in brain development that are related to the likelihood of conduct problems during the adolescent transition, justifying new research to test this causal hypothesis.

Studies of the genetic and environmental factors that make children more or less likely to develop distressing and impairing psychological problems, and studies of the psychobiological pathways through which these causal factors operate, have the goal of improving our understanding of the basic nature of psychological problems to develop better methods of prevention and treatment. For this reason, we have long had our eye on the prize of discovering the causes and psychobiological mechanisms underlying each dimension of psychological problems. There are compelling reasons, however, to seek a different and more achievable prize to understand psychological problems. Dimensions of psychological problems are both far too heterogeneous and too highly correlated to line up with distinct causal pathways. In contrast, a small number of orthogonal cognitive and socioemotional dispositional dimensions are correlated with psychological problems in revealing cross-cutting patterns. Each of these dispositions shares its independent causal pathways with psychological problems and help us understand the complex shared and heterogeneous nature of their causal processes. I outline a strategy for understanding the causes and mechanisms of psychological problems using studies of independently measured dispositions.