title: Criterion validity of the general factor of psychopathology in a prospective study of girls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The best-fitting model of the structure of common psychopathology often includes a general factor on which all dimensions of psychopathology load. Such a general factor would be important if it reflects etiologies and mechanisms shared by all dimensions of psychopathology. Nonetheless, a viable alternative explanation is that the general factor is partly or wholly a result of common method variance or other systematic measurement biases.
  
  
  METHODS
  To test this alternative explanation, we extracted general, externalizing, and internalizing factor scores using mother-reported symptoms across 5-11 years of age in confirmatory factor analyses of data from a representative longitudinal study of 2,450 girls. Independent associations between the three psychopathology factor scores and teacher-reported criterion variables were estimated in multiple regression, controlling intelligence, and demographic covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The model including the general factor fit significantly better than a correlated two-factor (internalizing/externalizing) model. The general factor was robustly and independently associated with all measures of teacher-reported school functioning concurrently during childhood and prospectively during adolescence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings weaken the hypothesis that the general factor of psychopathology in childhood is solely a measurement artifact and support further research on the substantive meaning of the general factor.
authors: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: Benjamin B
authors: BB
authors: Lahey
authors: Paul J
authors: PJ
authors: Rathouz
authors: Kate
authors: K
authors: Keenan
authors: Stephanie D
authors: SD
authors: Stepp
authors: Rolf
authors: R
authors: Loeber
authors: Alison E
authors: AE
authors: Hipwell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Validity; factor analysis; psychopathology