A Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology Can Transform Mental Health Research.
Christopher C Conway, Miriam K Forbes, Kelsie T Forbush, Eiko I Fried, Michael N Hallquist, Roman Kotov, Stephanie N Mullins-Sweatt, Alexander J Shackman, Andrew E Skodol, Susan C South, Matthew Sunderland, Monika A Waszczuk, David H Zald, Mohammad H Afzali, Marina A Bornovalova, Natacha Carragher, Anna R Docherty, Katherine G Jonas, Robert F Krueger, Praveetha Patalay, Aaron L Pincus, Jennifer L Tackett, Ulrich Reininghaus, Irwin D Waldman, Aidan G C Wright, Johannes Zimmermann, Bo Bach, R Michael Bagby, Michael Chmielewski, David C Cicero, Lee Anna Clark, Tim Dalgleish, Colin G DeYoung, Christopher J Hopwood, Masha Y Ivanova, Robert D Latzman, Christopher J Patrick, Camilo J Ruggero, Douglas B Samuel, David Watson, Nicholas R Eaton
Author Information
Christopher C Conway: 1 Department of Psychological Sciences, College of William & Mary. ORCID
Miriam K Forbes: 2 Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University.
Kelsie T Forbush: 3 Department of Psychology, University of Kansas.
Eiko I Fried: 4 Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam. ORCID
Michael N Hallquist: 5 Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University.
Roman Kotov: 6 Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York.
Stephanie N Mullins-Sweatt: 7 Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
Alexander J Shackman: 8 Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland.
Andrew E Skodol: 9 Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona.
Susan C South: 10 Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University.
Matthew Sunderland: 11 National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
Monika A Waszczuk: 6 Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York.
David H Zald: 12 Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University.
Mohammad H Afzali: 13 Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal.
Marina A Bornovalova: 14 Department of Psychology, University of South Florida.
Natacha Carragher: 15 Medical Education and Student Office, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales.
Anna R Docherty: 16 Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah.
Katherine G Jonas: 6 Department of Psychiatry, State University of New York.
Robert F Krueger: 17 Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota.
Praveetha Patalay: 18 Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, University of Liverpool.
Aaron L Pincus: 5 Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University.
Jennifer L Tackett: 19 Department of Psychology, Northwestern University.
Ulrich Reininghaus: 20 Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht University.
Irwin D Waldman: 22 Department of Psychology, Emory University.
Aidan G C Wright: 23 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh.
Johannes Zimmermann: 24 Department of Psychology, University of Kassel.
Bo Bach: 25 Psychiatric Research Unit, Slagelse Psychiatric Hospital.
R Michael Bagby: 26 Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto.
Michael Chmielewski: 27 Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University.
David C Cicero: 28 Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Lee Anna Clark: 29 Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame.
Tim Dalgleish: 30 Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Colin G DeYoung: 17 Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota.
Christopher J Hopwood: 31 Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis.
Masha Y Ivanova: 32 Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont.
Robert D Latzman: 33 Department of Psychology, Georgia State University. ORCID
Christopher J Patrick: 34 Department of Psychology, Florida State University.
Camilo J Ruggero: 35 Department of Psychology, University of North Texas.
Douglas B Samuel: 10 Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University.
David Watson: 29 Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame.
Nicholas R Eaton: 36 Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University.
For more than a century, research on psychopathology has focused on categorical diagnoses. Although this work has produced major discoveries, growing evidence points to the superiority of a dimensional approach to the science of mental illness. Here we outline one such dimensional system-the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP)-that is based on empirical patterns of co-occurrence among psychological symptoms. We highlight key ways in which this framework can advance mental-health research, and we provide some heuristics for using HiTOP to test theories of psychopathology. We then review emerging evidence that supports the value of a hierarchical, dimensional model of mental illness across diverse research areas in psychological science. These new data suggest that the HiTOP system has the potential to accelerate and improve research on mental-health problems as well as efforts to more effectively assess, prevent, and treat mental illness.
