A network approach to personality vulnerability symptom structure across early, middle, and late adolescence: Insights from a large-scale sample

Abstract

Background

The two-polarity model of personality development posits that personality vulnerabilities, specifically dependency and self-criticism, play a critical role in adolescent psychopathology risk. This theoretical framework emphasizes the importance of understanding how these vulnerabilities manifest and develop during adolescence, as adolescents face distinct developmental challenges at different stages. However, existing research overlooks the impact of stage-specific challenges on the development of personality vulnerabilities.

Method

This study included 24,946 Chinese adolescents (Mage ± SD = 15.50 ± 2.03; 46.50 % girls) divided into three age groups: early (10–13 years, N = 4652), middle (14–17 years, N = 15,065), and late (18–20 years, N = 5229). We employed network analysis to investigate the symptom structure of self-criticism and dependency through different adolescent stages, focusing on core symptoms (highly connected nodes), bridges (links between dependency and self-criticism), and potential causal relationships.

Result

Feelings of disappointing others and loneliness after arguments are consistently central to self-criticism and dependency, respectively. Connections between these vulnerabilities change across stages. Evidence from the directed acyclic graph suggests that self-criticism gradually replaces dependency as the key to triggering experiences of personality vulnerability from early to late adolescence.

Conclusion

This study identified the personality vulnerability network structure across three stages of adolescents. The results highlight a developmental shift in the triggering sequences of personality vulnerability, moving from predominantly dependency in early adolescence to increased self-criticism in later stages. These insights underscore the significance of the developmental context in shaping personality vulnerabilities across adolescence and offer crucial directions for stage-specific interventions.