A five-factor model of perseverative thought

A recent article in Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science by Hallion et al. (2022) attempts to develop a model of perseverative thought comparable to the Big Five for personality. They begin by noting that clinicians use discrete categories that are not always well defined, then cite “three major barriers to establishing such a taxonomy: (a) a lack of research explicitly comparing categorical (subtype) versus dimensional models, (b) primary reliance on between-person measures rather than modeling at the level of the thought (within person), and (c) insufficient emphasis on replication and refinement.”

Their participants included “an unselected crowdsourced sample (790 observations from 286 participants) and an independent anxious-depressed replication sample (808 observations from 277 participants).” The rest of the abstract indicates that:

Participants made dimensional ratings for three idiographic clinically relevant thoughts on a range of features. Multilevel latent class analysis and multilevel exploratory factor analysis were applied to identify and extract natural patterns of covariation among features at the level of the thought, controlling for person-level tendencies. A consistent five-dimension solution emerged across both samples and reliably outperformed the best-fitting categorical solution in terms of fit, replicability, and explanatory power. Identified dimensions were dyscontrol, self-focus, valence, interpersonal, and uncertainty. Findings support a five-factor latent structure of perseverative thought. 

While this is just the beginning of a process that can potentially create more consensus about how to better operationalize perseverative thought, it seems like a smart way to start that process.