Is the structure of psychopathology encoded in language? Comparing large language models and self-reports.

= 780 adults) was compared with the structure in language derived by (a) factor-analyzing item text embedding similarity from two LLMs and (b) grouping items with a conversational LLM. Results showed the self-report and LLM structures largely align (77% of factors were similar). The few cases of misalignment indicate some psychopathology concepts persist in scientific and cultural discourse that ignore functional symptom relationships. For example, insomnia and nightmares were separate in self-reports yet lumped together by LLMs, suggesting these symptoms are often discussed in similar contexts but are not usually reported by the same people. Overall, our study adds novel insight into the nature of psychopathology dimensions identified by structural research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).