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Cited by 15Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentMental Health Research TopicsAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

IQ Modulates Coupling Between Diverse Dimensions of Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents

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Mahony, Bridget W., Tu, Danni, Rau, Srishti, Liu, Siyuan, Lalonde, François M., Alexander-Bloch, Aaron F., Satterthwaite, Theodore D., Shinohara, Russell T. +3 more·2023·Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.06.015PMC PMC9805478
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Abstract

Objective Correlations between cognitive ability and psychopathology are well recognized, but prior research has been limited by focusing on individuals with intellectual disability, single-diagnosis psychiatric populations, or few measures of psychopathology. Here, we quantify relationships between full-scale IQ and multiple dimensions of psychopathology in a diverse care-seeking population, with a novel focus on differential coupling between psychopathology dimensions as a function of IQ. Method A total of 70 dimensional measures of psychopathology, plus IQ and demographic data, were collated for 2,752 children and adolescents from the Healthy Brain Network dataset. We first examined univariate associations between IQ and psychopathology, and then characterized how the correlational architecture of psychopathology differs between groups at extremes of the IQ distribution. Results Associations with IQ vary in magnitude between different domains of psychopathology: IQ shows the strongest negative correlations with attentional and social impairments, but is largely unrelated to affective symptoms and psychopathy. Lower IQ is associated with stronger coupling between internalizing problems and aggression, repetitive behaviors, and hyperactivity/inattentiveness. Conclusion Our analyses reveal that variation in general cognitive ability is associated not only with significant and selective shifts in severity of psychopathology, but also in the coupling between different dimensions of psychopathology. These findings have relevance for the clinical assessment of mental health in populations with varying IQ, and may also inform ongoing efforts to improve the measurement of psychopathology and to understand how relationships between cognition and behavior are reflected in brain organization. Diversity & inclusion statement We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure sex balance in the selection of non-human subjects. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our reference list. The author list of this paper includes contributors from the location and/or community where the research was conducted who participated in the data collection, design, analysis, and/or interpretation of the work. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science.

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  • Both low and high IQ levels have been linked to anxiety disorders.

    “Similarly, both low and high IQ levels have been linked to anxiety disorders [83,90,91,92].”

    From ADHD Children Take More Time to Inhibit Automatic Responses: A Comparison with Anxiety Disorders Using NEPSY-II (2025) · cites this paper as [92]

    The Results section reports that lower IQ was associated with more severe symptoms on several specific anxiety measures. It also states that higher IQ was not associated with significantly greater symptom severity in any domain after correction for multiple comparisons. The evidence concerns anxiety symptoms rather than establishing that both low and high IQ are linked to anxiety disorders. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Social and separation anxiety reported by parents and panic symptoms reported by youth were associated with lower IQ, whereas general anxiety symptoms were not related to IQ.

    “One study found that social and separation anxiety reported by parents and panic symptoms reported by youth were associated with lower IQ, whereas general anxiety symptoms were not related to IQ [92].”

    From ADHD Children Take More Time to Inhibit Automatic Responses: A Comparison with Anxiety Disorders Using NEPSY-II (2025) · cites this paper as [92]

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [38]Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children. Accessed March 7, 2022. https://www.pearsonassessments.com/store/usassessments/en/Store/Professional-Assessments/Cognition-%26-Neuro/Gifted-%26-Talented/Wechsler-Intelligence-Scale-for-Children-%7C-Fifth-Edition-/p/100000771.html
  2. [40]Connors CK. Conners 3rd Edition: Manual. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems. Published online 2008.

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Authors
Mahony, B. W., Tu, D., Rau, S., Liu, S., Lalonde, F. M., Alexander-Bloch, A. F., Satterthwaite, T. D., Shinohara, R. T., Bassett, D. S., Milham, M. P., & Raznahan, A.
Affiliations
  • National Institute of Mental Health (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Children's National (US)
  • Santa Fe Institute (US)
  • Child Mind Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Raznahan, Armin
ORCID
Venue
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-01
Volume
62
Issue
1
Pages
59-73
ISSN
0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jaac.2022.06.015
PMC
PMC9805478
OpenAlex
W4285810581
Cited by
15
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1
FWCI
2.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health
  • National Institutes of Health (ZIAMH002949-06)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Keywords
IQ, cognitive ability, psychopathology, children and adolescents, internalizing problems, aggression, repetitive behavior, attentional impairment, social dysfunction, affective symptoms, psychopathy, Healthy Brain Network, sex differences, racial and ethnic diversity, neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual disability
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mental Health, Psychopathology

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