Reification of the p factor draws attention away from external causes of psychopathology.

Summarizing specific psychopathology symptoms into higher order factors has a long tradition in mental health science. More recently, the general psychopathology factor (p factor) has gained much interest and currently reflects the highest level of the psychopathology hierarchy. The p factor is modeled from covariance of transdiagnostic psychopathology symptoms. Because such covariance is robust (persons who score higher on symptom X compared to others also tend to score higher on symptom Y), there have been many factor-analytic studies that claim the discovery of-and/or empirical support for-a general psychopathology factor. The reification of the p factor has put person-internal common causes of psychopathology high on the research agenda, while person-external common causes are overlooked. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).