Rethinking the p-factor: A model of cumulative risk aggregation across development—Commentary on Caspi et al. (2026).

Comments on the article by Caspi et al. (see record 2026-80066-001). The general psychopathology factor, or p-factor, has emerged as a latent structure capturing shared liability across mental disorders. However, it may reflect more than statistical covariance and instead index a developmental vulnerability architecture, an emergent feature shaped by genetic, social, and environmental interactions over time. Viewed in this way, the p-factor represents the trace of a deeper risk process unfolding across generations. This perspective supports integrative models of psychopathology and motivates transdiagnostic, network-based approaches to prediction and prevention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).