In search of disorders: internalizing symptom networks in a large clinical sample.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The co-occurrence of internalizing disorders is a common form of psychiatric comorbidity, raising questions about the boundaries between these diagnostic categories. We employ network psychometrics in order to: (a) determine whether internalizing symptoms cluster in a manner reflecting DSM diagnostic criteria, (b) gauge how distinct these diagnostic clusters are and (c) examine whether this network structure changes from childhood to early and then late adolescence.

Method

Symptom-level data were obtained for service users in publicly funded mental health services in England between 2011 and 2015 (N = 37,162). A symptom network (i.e. Gaussian graphical model) was estimated, and a community detection algorithm was used to explore the clustering of symptoms.

Resu

SUBMITTER: McElroy E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6767473 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature