The P Factor Of Internalizing And Externalizing Problems In Early Adolescence:Its Development And Related Factors

Internalizing and externalizing problems are two common types of psychopathological problems,with the former manifesting primarily in the emotional domain and the latter in the behavioral domain.Researchers have extensively studied both types of problems and they have found that the problems often co-occur in both child-adolescent and adult populations.The co-occurrence between externalizing and internalizing problems has led psychopathological researchers to question the current categorical perspective on the structure of psychopathology.In recent years,the p-factor theory has provided a new idea for understanding the co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing problems,guided by which many studies have examined the characteristics of psychopathological problems and their related factors.However,there is a lack of longitudinal studies that examine developmental trends p-factors and specific factors of psychopathology.Moreover,considering early adolescence is a special stage throughout an individual’s life course,examining the development of internalizing and externalizing problems and their related factors during this period has important theoretical and practical implications.In view of this,the present study recruited 2,144 students(M_age=12.20±0.37 years old,51.83%boys)and their parents as participants,followed from sixth grade to eighth grade,assessed every year.Parental reports were used to measure internalizing and externalizing problems and demographic variables,maternal reports to measure maternal parenting behaviors,and peer nominations to measure peer victimization.The data were analyzed using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel growth model.The main findings of this study are as follows:（1）Compared with one-factor model,correlated factor model and high-order factor model,the bi-factor model containing a p-factor,specific internalizing and externalizing factors better portrayed the underlying structure of the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in early adolescence.（2）The p-factor and specific internalizing factor in early adolescents’psychopathological problems showed an increasing trend.The increasing trend was stronger for adolescents with lower initial levels of the specific internalizing factor.（3）We found no significant gender differences in the initial levels of the p-factor for early adolescent psychopathology.However,boys had higher initial levels of specific externalizing factor,while girls had higher initial levels of specific internalizing.Lower family socioeconomic status,stronger parenting behaviors of maternal control/punishment and rejection,and more peer victimization were associated with higher initial levels of the p-factor;low family socioeconomic status and strong maternal rejection were associated with the initial level of specific internalizing factor;maternal control/punishment and rejection,and peer victimization were associated with initial levels of specific externalizing factor.Family socioeconomic status was also associated with the developmental trend of the specific internalizing factor in early adolescence.