Date of Thesis

Spring 2026

Description

Introduction: The classification and assessment of psychopathology is a crucial part of understanding mental health. The current model, published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, with the current 5th edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2022), utilizes a categorical approach to psychopathology (i.e., one has the disorder or they do not). This creates ~300 diagnoses that are understood as theoretically distinct from one another. In reality, categorical diagnoses are often heavily comorbid (Forbes et al., 2024) and within a diagnostic category there are large amounts of heterogeneity (Feczko & Fair, 2020). To address these issues, dimensional models of psychopathology have emerged, like the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP; Kotov et al., 2017). HiTOP is a relatively new model of psychopathology and thus work is needed to further our empirical understanding of the model. HiTOP recently developed a self-report questionnaire of its model (HiTOP-SR), which assesses large portions of different psychopathologies. The current study addresses the validity and overall structure of the HiTOP-SR items that measure Obsessive Compulsive (O-C) symptoms and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Methods: Guardians of children aged 7-11 (n = 150) completed the HiTOP-SR O-C subscales (Checking, Cleaning, Counting, Excoriation, Hoarding, Trichotillomania, Perfectionism, and Somatic Preoccupation), the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-47), the Toronto Obsessive Compulsive Scale (TOCS-2), the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), and a demographics questionnaire. Results: The HiTOP-SR O-C subscales demonstrated good internal consistencies and were significantly, positively correlated with all other measures of psychopathology. The hierarchical regression results found that the Trichotillomania subscale was a main predictor for the RCADS O-C subscale (β = .44), the RCADS Depression subscale (β = .56), the RCADS Anxiety subscale (β = .50), and the SCQ (β = .29). The exploratory factor analysis results yielded a mixed five-factor model, with two factors significantly deviating from the expected factor structure. Discussion: The results were mixed in terms of the validity of the HiTOP-SR O-C subscales. Overall, while the reliability of the measure was good, the validity of these subscales was not supported by the hierarchical regression and the exploratory factor analysis results. This suggests that the O-C subscales are not measuring O-C symptoms as expected. These results call for further psychometric work on HiTOP-SR more generally to assess the validity of all subscales across all spectra and more specifically within youth mental health.

Keywords

Psychopathology, Assessment, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology, Dimensional

Access Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Lisa Stone-Bury

Second Advisor

Dr. Haley Kragness

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