Irritability and mental health profiles among children and adolescents: A result of latent profile analysis

Background: Irritability is a transdiagnostic symptom that accompanies both internalizing and externalizing problems. However, there has been a scarcity of research concerning the relationships between irritability and mental health profiles among children and adolescents. Aim: This study aimed to identify latent profiles in children and adolescents using anxiety, depression, oppositionality, and irritability. In addition, the profiles were further examined in their relationships with mental health symptoms. Method: The study analyzed data from 1867 children and adolescents aged 6-15 years from the COVID-19 Online-Survey for Children and Adolescents in Japan (J-COSCA). Parent-reported questionnaires were used in this study. Results: A latent profile analysis detected five latent profiles. High oppositionality characterized the first profile ("oppositional": n = 405, 22%). High levels of depression and other less pronounced symptoms characterized the second profile ("depressed": n = 276, 15%). The third profile ("average": n = 602, 33%) presented average symptoms of anxiety, depression and oppositionality and low irritability. The fourth profile ("well-adjusted": n = 235, 13%) presented low values for all the applicable symptoms. The last profile ("comorbid": n = 308, 17%) exhibited high values for all the symptoms and the highest level of irritability of the five profiles. Limitation: We analyzed the data from a community sample alone after capturing it using parent-reported questionnaires. Conclusion: This study revealed that the five profiles (oppositional, depressed, average, well-adjusted, and comorbid) were identified, and children and adolescents in the comorbid profiles had high irritability as well as high anxiety, depression, and oppositionality.