The role of internalizing and externalizing liability factors in accounting for gender differences in the prevalence of common psychopathological syndromes.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional structural equation modeling in a registry-based cohort
PubMed 17892625 · doi:10.1017/S0033291707001572
What was done
Researchers examined the latent structure and factorial invariance of 11 psychopathological syndromes in 2,992 middle-aged adults (mean age 52.66 ± 5.82 years; 37% men) from the community-based Minnesota Twin Registry. Syndromes were assessed using 10 scales of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ) and an adult antisocial behavior scale. Confirmatory factorial invariance models were evaluated using an internalizing-externalizing framework.
What was found
A strong gender invariance model showed the best fit, demonstrating that gender differences in the means of individual syndromes were accounted for by gender differences in latent internalizing and externalizing factors. Women had higher mean levels of internalizing (d = 0.23) and lower mean levels of externalizing (d = -0.52) than men.
Why it matters
The findings show that gender disparities across common psychiatric disorders largely reflect broader liability dimensions rather than syndrome-specific mechanisms, suggesting etiologic research should target latent factor levels.
Limits
The study relies on a cross-sectional self-report screening questionnaire rather than structured clinical diagnostic interviews. The sample is restricted to middle-aged participants from a single state twin registry with an unbalanced sex ratio (37% men).
Cited by
- supports Twin, adoption, and direct DNA studies indicate that the underlying genetic liability toward disinhibition and self-regulation problems is consistent across men and women, differing in mean behavior rates rather than genetic etiology.