Psychiatric Scale Research Articles

Symptoms of anxiety and depression and family's quality of life in children and adolescents with epilepsy

IntroductionWe studied children and adolescents with epilepsy (CAWE) and their families to evaluate symptoms of anxiety and depression, quality of life (QoL), and their correlations with epilepsy characteristics. Material and methodsThe study included 326 (52.5% females) 8 to 18years old CAWE. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the “Self-administered psychiatric scales for children and adolescents” (SAFA), and family's QoL with the parents' report “Impact of Epilepsy on QoL” (IEQoL). ResultsThe CAWE exhibiting abnormal (T≥70) scores were 8.0% in the anxiety scale, 9.2% in the depression scale, and 4.6% in both scales. Social anxiety was the predominant anxiety symptom, while irritable mood and desperation were the most frequent symptoms of depression. Depressive symptoms were associated with parents' complaint of higher worries about the child's condition and future and lower well-being of the family.Severity and duration of the epilepsy and polypharmacy were independent from abnormal scores of anxiety and depression, but were associated with parents' worries about the child's condition and family's well-being. ConclusionsAnxiety and depression in CAWE are independent from the characteristics of the disease but are correlated to the lower well-being of the family. A search of these emotional problems is recommended for better care of the patients and their families.

Development of nurses’ psychiatric care stress scale

Development of nurses’ psychiatric care stress scale

Psychiatric disorders and low Glasgow Coma Scale score - a case series

Psychiatric disorders and low Glasgow Coma Scale score - a case series

Effects of co-occurring disorders on the perception of family functioning

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Comorbidity of other psychiatric disorders is a common issue in individuals with substance use disorder (SUDs); this phenomenon is known as co-occurring disorders (CODs). Previous studies have pointed that CODs are strongly associated with familial difficulties. There are CODs where the association between family function and COD remains unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze the relation between CODs and family functioning in a sample of individuals with SUDs receiving treatment in residential addiction facilities. Method: A total of 490 participants were evaluated with Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for psychiatric disorders and Intra-family Relationships Scale (IRS) for family functioning. Two models were analyzed using multiple linear regression, predictors for each model were (1) any disorders and (2) each disorders, in order to evaluate the relation between psychiatric disorders and factors from the IRS. Models were compared through ANOVA. Results: Model 1 (including any disorder as predictor) was significant for every dimension of the family functioning. In Model 2, significant associations between the three IRS factors and antisocial personality disorder, major depressive disorder, and anorexia nervosa were found, being negative in difficulties and positive in cohesion and support and expression. Posttraumatic stress disorder was only significantly associated with cohesion and support. Conclusions: CODs displayed differential relations in the family functioning.

「精神障害者雇用の態度尺度評価・改訂版」の信頼性と妥当性の検討 : 運輸業者を対象として

「精神障害者雇用の態度尺度評価・改訂版」の信頼性と妥当性の検討 : 運輸業者を対象として

Classification of Suicide Attempts through a Machine Learning Algorithm Based on Multiple Systemic Psychiatric Scales

Classification and prediction of suicide attempts in high-risk groups is important for preventing suicide. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the information from multiple clinical scales has classification power for identifying actual suicide attempts. Patients with depression and anxiety disorders (N = 573) were included, and each participant completed 31 self-report psychiatric scales and questionnaires about their history of suicide attempts. We then trained an artificial neural network classifier with 41 variables (31 psychiatric scales and 10 sociodemographic elements) and ranked the contribution of each variable for the classification of suicide attempts. To evaluate the clinical applicability of our model, we measured classification performance with top-ranked predictors. Our model had an overall accuracy of 93.7% in 1-month, 90.8% in 1-year, and 87.4% in lifetime suicide attempts detection. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was the highest for 1-month suicide attempts detection (0.93), followed by lifetime (0.89), and 1-year detection (0.87). Among all variables, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire had the highest contribution, and the positive and negative characteristics of the scales similarly contributed to classification performance. Performance on suicide attempts classification was largely maintained when we only used the top five ranked variables for training (AUROC; 1-month, 0.75, 1-year, 0.85, lifetime suicide attempts detection, 0.87). Our findings indicate that information from self-report clinical scales can be useful for the classification of suicide attempts. Based on the reliable performance of the top five predictors alone, this machine learning approach could help clinicians identify high-risk patients in clinical settings.

Baseline Predictors of Antipsychotic Treatment Continuation and Response at Week 8 in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease with Psychosis or Aggressive Symptoms: An Analysis of the CATIE-AD Study.

The aim of the present study was to investigate predictors of atypical antipsychotic (AAP) treatment continuation and response by week 8 in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) who have psychotic/aggressive symptoms using the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness-Alzheimer's Disease (CATIE-AD) dataset. Clinical data was utilized from 421 AD outpatients with psychotic/aggressive symptoms who needed interventional treatment. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine which baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics contributed to treatment 'continuation' and 'response', the latter of which was evaluated by the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and Brief Psychiatric Scale (BPRS). The treatment continuation rate was 48.7%, and CGI-C, NPI, and BPRS response rate by the last observation carried forward method were 42.7%, 48.6%, and 37.5%, respectively. No significant predictor was identified for treatment continuation in the Caucasian patients (n = 331), while better treatment response was predicted by a lower Mini-Mental State Examination score, treatment with risperidone (versus olanzapine and quetiapine), history of diabetes mellitus, healthier physical status, and more severe initial psychotic symptoms. Comparatively high intolerability from AAPs in the short term was confirmed. We found that baseline clinical predictors to treatment response in Caucasian AD patients with psychotic/aggressive symptoms include treatment with risperidone (versus quetiapine and olanzapine), diabetes mellitus, global physical status, cognitive impairment, and psychotic symptoms. Going forward, these findings may help to determine treatment strategies or care plans.

Psychosocial functioning, self-image, and quality of life in children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disorder associated with neurocutaneus manifestations, as well as attention and learning problems. The aim of this study was to examine the psychosocial functioning, quality of life, and self-image of children with NF1. Two hundred forty participants were recruited, comprising 60 children and adolescents with NF1, 60 parents of children with NF1, 60 children and adolescents without NF1, and 60 parents of children without NF1. The children/adolescents completed the Self-administered Psychiatric Scales test for Children and Adolescents and the human figure drawing test, whereas parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Both children and parents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Compared to healthy subjects, individuals with NF1 reported anxiety problems, poorer quality of life, and greater distortions in terms of self-image. When compared to healthy participants' parents, the parents of NF1 participants reported having more concerns about the quality of life, sociality, school performance, and attention span of their children. Results show that the psychological functioning, behavior, self-image, and quality of life of children and adolescents with NF1 are compromised. Health services should take into account the psychosocial difficulties associated with NF1 and design rehabilitation programs aimed at increasing NF1 children's interpersonal skills, improving their social life and quality of life, and promoting more adaptive behaviors. In addition, health care interventions should also involve the parents of children with NF1.

“Developing culturally sensitive affect scales for global mental health research and practice: Emotional balance, not named syndromes, in Indian Adivasi subjective well-being”

We present a perspective to analyze mental health without either a) imposing Western illness categories or b) adopting local or “native” categories of mental distress. Our approach takes as axiomatic only that locals within any culture share a cognitive and verbal lexicon of salient positive and negative emotional experiences, which an appropriate and repeatable set of ethnographic procedures can elicit. Our approach is provisionally agnostic with respect to either Western or native nosological categories, and instead focuses on persons’ relative frequency of experiencing emotions. Putting this perspective into practice in India, our ethnographic fieldwork (2006–2014) and survey analysis (N = 219) resulted in a 40-item Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), which we used to assess the mental well-being of Indigenous persons (the tribal Sahariya) in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Generated via standard cognitive anthropological procedures that can be replicated elsewhere, measures such as this possess features of psychiatric scales favored by leaders in global mental health initiatives. Though not capturing locally named distress syndromes, our scale is nonetheless sensitive to local emotional experiences, frames of meaning, and “idioms of distress.” By sharing traits of both global and also locally-derived diagnoses, approaches like ours can help identify synergies between them. For example, employing data reduction techniques such as factor analysis—where diagnostic and screening categories emerge inductively ex post facto from emotional symptom clusters, rather than being deduced or assigned a priori by either global mental health experts or locals themselves—reveals hidden overlaps between local wellness idioms and global ones. Practically speaking, our perspective, which assesses both emotional frailty and also potential sources of emotional resilience and balance, while eschewing all named illness categories, can be deployed in mental health initiatives in ways that minimize stigma and increase both the acceptability and validity of assessment instruments.

Síntomas neuropsiquiátricos como factor de confusión en la detección de la demencia

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate whether the neuropsychiatric symptoms interfere with cognitive impairment detection in primary care and to describe which of them generate more confusion. DesignDescriptive and observational study. LocationMobile psychiatric unit in collaboration with primary healthcare centers in Barcelona. ParticipantsA total of 104 patients over 65years referred to mobile psychiatric unit from primary healthcare clinicians suspecting mental disease. Main measurementsAll patients received a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis. We included in the study the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Neuropsichiatric Inventory, Severe Psychiatric Illness scale, Global Assessment of Functioning, Clinical Global Impression and Word Health Organisation Dissability Assessment Schedule. Results55.8% of patients referred from primary care had altered MMSE score. Neuropsychiatric symptoms more frequently associated with suspected cognitive impairment were delusions, hallucinations, agitation, disinhibition, irritability and purposeless motor behavior. ConclusionsWhen psychiatric symptoms of Severe Mental Disorder (SMD) are detected in elderly individuals with no history of SMD, cognitive impairment should be suspected and a screening test be done.

The role of attachment insecurity in the emergence of anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with migraine: an empirical study

BackgroundIt is widely recognised that there are associations between headache, psychiatric comorbidity and attachment insecurity in both adults and children. The aims of this study were: 1) to compare perceived attachment security and anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine without aura and a healthy control group; 2) to test whether the child’s perceived security of attachment to the mother and the father mediated the association between migraine and anxiety.MethodsOne hundred children and adolescents with Migraine without Aura were compared with a control group of 100 children without headache. The Security Scale (measures perceived security of attachments) and the Self-Administered Psychiatric Scales for Children and Adolescents, a measure of anxiety symptoms, were administered to all participants.ResultsThe clinical group had lower attachment security than the control group and higher scores on all anxiety scales. Anxiety was negatively correlated with attachment. Children’s attachment to their mother mediated the increase in global anxiety in the clinical group. Insecure paternal attachment was associated with greater insecurity in maternal attachment, suggesting that there is a complex pathway from migraine to anxiety symptoms mediated by perceived insecurity of paternal attachment and hence also by perceived insecurity of maternal attachment.ConclusionThese results suggest that insecure parental attachment may exacerbate anxiety in children and adolescents with migraine and point to the importance of multimodal interventions, perhaps taking account of family relationships, for children and adolescents with migraine.

Application of psychiatric assessment scale of cognitive and volition capacity in violent crimes

Objective To explore the feasibility of psychiatric assessment scale of cognitive and volition capacity(PASCVC) in violent crimes. Methods The PASCVC, criminal responsibility rating scale for violence(CRRSV) and criminal responsibility rating scale(CRRS)were used respectively in 244 forensic psychiatric cases. All cases were classified by the judicial surveyor into three grades including complete lost, partial lost and normal, the results were compared with expert's opinions. Results ①PASCVC was composed of two subscales: cognitive capacity and volition capacity. There were significant differences in rating average score of three groups (complete lost, partial lost and normal) of total scale, cognitive capacity and volition capacity subscales were 9.96±7.53, 69.15±10.290, 101.16±6.034; 20.29±4.971, 37.13±5.388, 2.55±2.612; 18.32±2.595, 30.07±4.595, 48.34±4.147 respectively and there were significant differences between them. ②27 items had good correlation with the scale(r=0.157~0.915). ③According to the reference demarcation points of scale, 12 criteria were carried out by using stepwise discriminant analysis. The accuracy of retrospective cumulative square was 97.1%.④Total scale and subscales consistency of three demarcation point grading assessment results were consistent with expert's opinions, the Kappa values were 0.925, 0.848 and 0.930 respectively (P<0.01); PASCVC consistency with CRRSV and CRRS, the correlation coefficients were 0.952 and 0.961 respectively (P<0.01), the Kappa values were 0.830 and 0.881 respectively (P<0.01). Conclusion The PASCVC is feasible to be used in violent crimes. Key words: Cognitive and volition capacity; Psychiatric assessment scale of cognitive and volition capacity in crime; Violent Crimes

Psychiatric Risk Assessment Scale (PRAS)

IntroductionThe aim of psychiatry is the prediction of risks.ObjectivesCreation of the Psychiatric Risk Assessment Scale (PRAS) (Table 1).AimsTo assess psychiatric inpatients for risk to self and others.MethodsThe PRAS comprises 20 risk items that rate five probabilities of occurrence: 0% (nil), 25% (low), 50% (moderate), 75% (high) and 100% (severe). Cut-off score indicates “moderate” risk = 50. The mathematical formulas for the risks are as follows:– severity of risk (SR) = average for the whole table multiplied by %;– number of significant risk events (NSRE) = count of risks scored from 50% to 100% divided by 20 (items);– probability of occurrence of risks (POR = NSRE%);– range probability of death (RPD) = range score of (overdose + suicide + reckless activities)%.Two raters assessed independently n = 8 patients. Kappa inter-rater statistic was used by dichotomous results (above-below cut-off score).ResultsInter-rater Kappa = 0.60 indicates a moderate inter-rater agreement. In the sample, only 2 patients scored above the cut-off score of 50, indicating a level of moderate-to-severe risk. For the other patients, the average SR = 36%, indicating low-to-moderate risk.ConclusionsPRAS is constantly used to assess the likelihood that the care provided to patients admitted to hospital is sufficient or whether major remedial action is required.Table 1Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Neurocognitive status in different stages of psychosis: Changes from the first episode psychosis to remission

IntroductionNeurocognitive impairment in schizophrenia is associated with functional disability and poorer quality of life, and is the most resistant of all schizophrenia symptoms to current psychopharmacotherapy.ObjectivesTo compare the differences in neurocognitive status during the acute phase of first psychotic episode and stable symptomatic remission.AimsTo investigate the pattern of neurocognitive impairment in patients with first episode psychosis during acute phase and stable remission phase.MethodsWe performed a longitudinal study, including 150 patients with first episode of psychosis at two time points: during their hospitalization at Zagreb university hospital centre or university psychiatric hospital Vrapče, at acute phase of illness and after 12–18 months, during stable remission. Assessment included detailed clinical interview, clinical rating of neuropsychiatric symptoms using standardized psychiatric scales, self-assessment scales and comprehensive neurocognitive testing.ResultsWhile our preliminary results (n = 40) showed statistically significant improvement in various neurocognitive domains, including visuo-learning abilities, verbal learning, executive functions, attention and processing speed, initial impairment in semantic and phonetic fluency observed in acute psychosis remained unchanged in remission as well.ConclusionsAlthough our results showed improvement in most of cognitive domains during time, language abilities remained unchanged. This further confirms the hypothesis that language impairment is a trait marker of psychotic disorder.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Impact of environmental influence and vulnerability to stress in the development of first psychotic episode

IntroductionSome findings in patients with first psychotic episode (FEP) could be related to alterations of stress responses. Alterations of stress response are reflected in the alterations of the HPA axis.ObjectiveTo assess the difference in stress response in FEP patients and healthy controls as well as implications of environment to vulnerability to psychosis.AimTo assess endocrine and autonomic responses to acute psychosocial stress, their associations with onset of the first psychotic episode as well as the influence of the environmental factors.MethodsWe have assessed clinical status through clinical psychiatric interviews, standardized psychiatric scales and validated psychological scales, (LEQ, WHOQOL-BREF, PBI, Rosenberg) in 45 subjects with FEP and 50 age and gender matched controls. All participants were then exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSTT).ResultsOur preliminary findings on a sample of 95 participants indicate a differences between patients and controls in salivatory cortisol measured in 5 time points during the TSST. Patients with FEP experience more levels of baseline cortisole, and less changes during the stress test then controls. Baseline stress levels indicated in the salivatory cortisole levels correlate with perceived self-esteem, psychological and social quality of life.ConclusionOur findings support the alterations of stress response, possibly indicating vulnerability to stress in persons with FEP.FundingThis work was funded by the grant of the Croatian Science Foundation No UIP-2014-09-1245 Biomarkers in schizophrenia – integration of complementary methods in longitudinal follow up of first episode psychosis patients.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Poster Number: EI 35 - Can Psychiatric Self-Report Scales be Used to Predict Acute Health-Service Utilization Outcomes in Geriatric Psychiatry Patients?

Poster Number: EI 35 - Can Psychiatric Self-Report Scales be Used to Predict Acute Health-Service Utilization Outcomes in Geriatric Psychiatry Patients?

Toward Expert Systems in Mental Health Assessment: A Computational Approach to the Face and Voice in Dyadic Patient-Doctor Interactions

Background: Computational approaches to measure naturalistic behavior in clinical settings could provide an objective backstop for mental health assessment and disease monitoring, both of which are costly and unreliable using traditional methods. Objective: The objective of this pilot study was to determine which parts of the mental status exam could be reliably predicted by a combination of facial and vocal features extracted from a recorded interview using a combination of computer-assisted methods, in order to assess feasibility of our approach to quantify behavior for a longitudinal study of patients receiving psychiatric treatment. Methods: A total of 18 patients carrying diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and related conditions were recruited from an inpatient psychiatric unit and participated in a total of 24 semi-structured interviews lasting 5-15 minutes (modeled after clinical rounds). Synchronized audio and video data were acquired from both patient and doctor during each encounter using 1080p webcams focused on the face and upper torso and cardioid headset microphones. Standardized psychiatric symptom scales was obtained after each recorded interview. Behavioral features, including facial action units (AUs), gaze, and speech characteristics (eg, prosody, pitch, tone, texture) were computed automatically using in-house and publicly available software. To predict clinical scales we trained a linear kernel support vector regressor (SVR) using features from both the entire session (ie, global mean) and each experimental epoch (eg, means during time spent alone and each individual question), leading to 15 predictors for each clinical scale item and scale totals. We used leave-one-out validation on the training data (maximizing the Pearson correlation coefficient) to determine the C parameter for the SVR models; for testing, we used leave-one-subject-out cross-validation (ie, leaving 17 participants for training/validation in each fold). Results: Providing evidence of our approach's ability to capture and quantify relevant signal that confirms or verifies clearly visible psychopathology, we found that parameters such as brow furrowing (AU4, R=0.744) and eye widening (AU5, R=–0.601) were correlated with depression measures on the BPRS. In many cases, these effects were specific to the question or experimental epoch. For instance, unusual thought content was most evident in increased frequency of brow flashes (AU2, R=0.752) and greater smile variability (R=0.656) that occurred while participants were alone in the room. Individuals with higher ratings of delusions also showed increased brow flashes in response to a question about their self confidence (R=0.739). Many relationships showed a “dose effect” with midrange scores corresponding with moderate psychopathology. Conclusions: Our experiments show that automatically detected facial action units and speech properties can be used to predict and quantify a number of psychiatric symptoms from multiple domains of psychopathology, including both mood and psychosis. We demonstrate the importance of analyzing behaviors in the appropriate context (ie, while participants are alone or prompted with a specific question) in order to optimally extract clinically relevant information from objective indices of behavior. Thus, quantitative assessment of behavior in naturalistic settings is both feasible and informative as an adjunct to traditional methods of mental status assessment. [iproc 2016;2(1):e44]

Efficacy and Safety of Adjunctive Aripiprazole in Schizophrenia: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluated the efficacy and safety of adding aripiprazole to other antipsychotics in schizophrenia. A systematic computer search identified 55 RCTs including 4457 patients who were randomized to aripiprazole (14.0 ± 7.0 mg/d) versus placebo (18 RCTs) or open antipsychotic treatment (37 RCTs). Aripiprazole significantly outperformed the comparison interventions based on psychiatric scales: (1) total score in 43 RCTs (N = 3351) with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of -0.48 (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.68 to -0.28; P < 0.00001; I = 88%), (2) negative symptom score in 30 RCTs (N = 2294) with an SMD of -0.61(95% CI, -0.91 to -0.31; P < 0.00001; I = 91%), and (3) general psychopathology score in 13 RCTs (N = 1138) with a weighted mean difference (WMD) of -4.02 (95% CI, -7.23 to -0.81; P = 0.01; I = 99%), but not in positive symptoms in 29 RCTs (N = 2223) with a SMD of -0.01 (95% CI, 0.26 to 0.25; P = 0.95; I = 88%). Differences in total score based on psychiatric scales may be explained by the use of an antipsychotic for comparison rather than placebo in 31 RCTs with a nonblind design. Aripiprazole outperformed the comparison interventions for body weight in 9 RCTs (N = 505) with a WMD of -5.08 kg (95% CI, -7.14 to -3.02; P < 0.00001; I = 35%) and for body mass index (BMI) in 14 RCTs (N = 809) with a WMD of -1.78 (CI: -2.25 to -1.31; P < 0.00001; I = 54%). The BMI meta-regression analysis indicated aripiprazole's association with lower BMI was stronger in females. Adjunctive aripiprazole appears safe but better RCTs are needed to demonstrate efficacy. Chinese journals and scientific societies should encourage the publication of high-quality RCTs and require registration in a centralized Chinese database.

Effects of Acute Ketamine Infusion on Visual Working Memory: Event-Related Potentials

BackgroundWorking memory (WM) deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia. Electrophysiological studies suggest that impaired early visual processing may contribute to impaired WM in the visual domain. Abnormal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor function has been implicated both in WM and in early visual processing deficits in schizophrenia. We investigated whether ketamine, a noncompetitive NMDA antagonist, would replicate in healthy volunteers the WM performance and early visual processing abnormalities we and others have reported in patients with schizophrenia. MethodsForty-four healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive intravenous ketamine or placebo. During infusion, the effects of ketamine were recorded using standardized psychiatric scales. Visual evoked potentials (P100 and P300 components) were recorded during performance of a delayed matching to sample task. ResultsKetamine induced mild psychosis-like symptoms and impaired WM performance. It also significantly increased the P100 amplitude, while P300 amplitude decreased in a load-dependent manner. Amplitudes of P100 during retrieval correlated with cognitive performance only in the placebo group. ConclusionsWe confirmed previous studies showing that ketamine reproduces the impairment of WM performance and smaller P300 amplitudes observed in schizophrenia. However, ketamine increased visual P100 amplitude in contrast to our observation of reduced P100 amplitudes in established schizophrenia. The effects of ketamine on WM and P300 are likely to involve impaired NMDA function, as these receptors are implicated in changes of synaptic strength underlying associative learning and memory. Increased P100 amplitude may reflect the secondary disinhibition of cortical glutamate release that occurs after NMDA blockade.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Heritability of a General Psychopathology Factor in Children

Co-occurrence of mental disorders is commonlyobserved, but the etiology underlying this observationis poorly understood. Studies in adolescents and adults have identified a general psychopathology factor associated with a high risk for different psychiatric disorders. We defined a multi-informant general psychopathology factor in school-aged children and estimated its single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability. The goal was to test thehypothesis that child behavioral and emotional problems are under the influence of highly pleiotropic common autosomal genetic variants that nonspecifically increase therisk for different dimensions of psychopathology. Children from the Generation R cohort were repeatedly assessed between ages 6 to 8 years. Child behavior problems were reported by parents, teachers, and children. Confirmatory factor analysis estimated a general psychopathology factor across informants using various psychiatric problem scales. Validation of the general psychopathology factor was based on IQ and temperamental measures. Genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) was used to estimate the SNP heritability (N= 2,115). The general psychopathology factor was associated with lower IQ, higher negative affectivity, and lower effortful control, but not with surgency. Importantly, the general psychopathology factor showed a significant SNP heritability of 38% (SE= 0.16, p= .008). Common autosomal SNPs are pleiotropically associated with internalizing, externalizing, and other child behavior problems, and underlie a general psychopathology factor in childhood.