Commentary- Opening a can of worms: the importance of testing the measurement invariance of hierarchical models of psychopathology - a commentary on He and Li (2020).

Abstract

Measurement invariance is an understudied topic in much of psychopathology research, but its effects have far-reaching consequences. It has rarely been examined with respect to hierarchical models of psychopathology. He & Li's (2020) study represents one of the first attempts to bridge the gap between relatively narrow focused studies on the psychometric properties of specific assessments with broader research on the hierarchical structure of psychopathology. The results are promising, but more research is needed to understand the impact of culture, race, and ethnicity on the expression of psychopathology. Future research may determine whether dimensional and hierarchical models decrease the effect of cultural biases on assessment and help to further understand the etiology of epidemiological differences in rates of disorders. These models may also help to account for culture-bound syndromes.