Linking psychopathology and affective dispositions: a HiTOP-based structural analysis

The hierarchical structure of psychopathology, as proposed in the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), is well supported, yet its correspondence with affective dispositions remains insufficiently characterized. The present study investigated the hierarchical organization of affective dispositions and psychopathology, and their structural associations. Data were collected from a Czech community-based sample ( N = 443, 57.3% identifying as women, M age = 35.2). Hierarchical structures were estimated using the Bass-Ackwards method, and cross-domain associations were evaluated through canonical correlations and regression analyses. Results indicated systematic correspondence between the hierarchies, with the strongest associations observed at the affective-internalizing level. Affective factors accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in internalizing factors (65%), but a considerably smaller proportion in externalizing factors (20%). Associations became increasingly specific at lower hierarchy levels, with negative affect emerging as the dominant affective correlate of internalizing psychopathology. Findings generally suggest that internalizing psychopathology is closely linked to affective dispositions, whereas broad affective dispositions capture only part of the variation underlying externalizing domains. These results support partial structural convergence between affective dispositions and HiTOP-based psychopathology and indicate that affective dispositions may play different roles across internalizing and externalizing domains.