Date of Award
Summer 8-23-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Psychology
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology
First Advisor
Lauren McGrath
Second Advisor
Jenalee Doom
Third Advisor
Michelle Rozenman
Fourth Advisor
Kimberly Chiew
Fifth Advisor
Kim Gorgens
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Psychopathology, DSM, Comorbidity, Network analysis, Psychopathology symptoms, Cognitive skills
Abstract
Mental health disorders outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5-TR) share related mechanisms and overlapping etiologies and symptoms. As such, though symptoms typically cluster together in diagnostic categories, disorders are not completely isolated from each other. High and unexplained comorbidity has sparked interest in understanding what mechanisms may explain such co-occurrence (Cramer et al., 2010). Because cognitive difficulties are pervasive in psychopathology, they are a frequently proposed candidate for explaining comorbidity among psychopathology symptoms (Caspi & Moffit, 2018). Research examining comorbidity among psychopathology symptoms and their correlates often uses latent analysis techniques. More recently, there is increased interest in utilizing network analysis, which has a particular methodological strength in examining complex connections between closely interrelated variables (Boschloo et al., 2015). Thus, this study investigated the overlap between psychopathology symptoms and cognitive skills in youth by conducting three network analyses to answer three research questions in a large-scale dataset of youth (N=2374; ages 8-16) from the publicly available Healthy Brain Network sample. First, we examined a psychopathology network, including a wide range of common mental health symptoms. Results indicated that symptoms of inattention and depression are central to connecting externalizing and internalizing domains. Second, we investigated \the cognitive network, including multiple measures of domain-general cognitive constructs implicated in psychopathology (verbal and nonverbal reasoning, executive functioning, and processing speed). Results from the cognitive network indicated that working memory is central to the connections among cognitive tasks in youth. Finally, the third network combined both psychopathology symptoms and cognitive skills, investigating the constructs that bridge the two domains and thus may account for the overlap between psychopathology and cognitive skills. Results from this final network indicated the important roles of inattention, processing speed, and verbal reasoning in connecting disparate psychological symptoms and cognitive skills, and thus warrant future investigation as being important to a wide range of developmental outcomes.
Copyright Date
8-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Eliza Kramer
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
105 pgs
File Size
929 KB
Supplementary File Description
Supplementary Materials
File Format: application/msword
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 39 pgs
File Size: 1.9 MB
Recommended Citation
Kramer, Eliza, "Specific Associations Between Psychopathology and Cognition in Youth: A Network Analysis" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2634.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2634
Supplementary Materials
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Quantitative Psychology Commons