A Detailed Hierarchical Model of Psychopathology in Chinese Clinical Sample: Based on the SCL-90-R Measure

Objective: The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP)model is an impressive effort to overcome shortcomings of traditional diagnostic systems. However, almost all of the quantitative empirical evidence used to structure the model comes from Western cultures and is built upon traditional diagnostic categories. This study aims to provide a detailed Chinese version of the HiTOP structure, ranging from symptoms based on The Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R) up to the general factor. Methods: We explored the detailed hierarchical structure of the SCL-90-R scale in adult ( N = 34,222) and adolescent ( N = 1973) clinical sample from Shanghai Mental Health Center, using extended bass-ackwards approach to draw the HiTOP model. Results: The Chinese HiTOP structure had a general factor at the top, 4 higher -order spectra (Internalizing, Externalizing, Broad Thought Disorder and Somatization and Somatic Anxiety) and 6 subfactors (Distress, Somatoform, Hostility, Fear, Psychosis and OCD) across both adult and adolescent samples. In addition, the adult sample contained 2 other subfactors: a) Sleep, and b) Suicide and Guilt. At the symptom level, some items were posited to components diverged from the original SCL-90-R subscales. Conclusions: These findings offer the first description of the HiTOP structure in two Chinese samples and demonstrate that the SCL-90-R can be used to examine the HiTOP structure. The Somatization spectrum first emerged as a higher -order dimension, suggesting structural differences between Western and Eastern cultures. The results also suggest that transdiagnostic research should (1) further examine the positioning of somatoform symptoms using measures in other Eastern samples, and (2) place more emphasis on interpreting SCL-90-R results across different cultures.