Commentary: Modeling the malleable mental health trajectory - a commentary on Oldehinkel and Ormel (2022)

In their Annual Research Review titled 'Stability of psychopathology: Lessons learned from longitudinal population surveys' (Oldehinkel & Ormel, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2022) argue that psychological and psychiatric researchers should not only compare groups but also focus on the within-person variability using repeated measurements in longitudinal studies to advance our understanding of emotional and behavioral problems. I argue adopting such within-person approaches might also change how we think about causality and might lead us to more successful intervention research.

Automated summary

In their study on the stability of psychopathology using longitudinal population surveys, Oldehinkel and Ormel emphasize the importance of not only comparing groups but also focusing on within-person variability. They suggest that adopting a within-person approach can enhance our understanding of emotional and behavioral problems and potentially improve intervention research.