The network approach to psychopathology: investigating inter-individual variability and the association with clinical relapse in psychosis

Recent years have seen a proliferation of interest in psychological networks, which conceptualise psychopathology as networks of inter-connected, mutually reinforcing symptoms. It has been hypothesised that the topological structure of such networks is associated with clinical presentation. Analysing data from a longitudinal study of participants diagnosed with psychosis, we identify substantial inter-individual variability in network structure, problematising causal inference from cross-sectional networks. Additionally, we do not find strong evidence for an association between network structure and clinical relapse.