Schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and depressive disorder (DEP) are disabling diseases influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Several risk factors have been identified for these disorders in various systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and umbrella reviews. Identifying risk factors for these disorders is essential to be able to target disorder-specific or transdiagnostic interventions. We aimed to systematically review existing meta-analyses on selected risk factors for SZ, BD, and DEP. We systematically searched for meta-analyses of risk factors relating to pregnancy and birth, childhood and adolescence, lifestyle, somatic conditions, infectious agents, and environmental exposures published since 2000. The transdiagnostic comparison included 70 meta-analyses, encompassing results for 55 risk factors that were studied across at least two of the three disorders. In our extensive transdiagnostic umbrella, 74% of reported effect sizes for the risk factors from meta-analyses were statistically significant. Childhood maltreatment was a robust transdiagnostic risk factor for all three disorders. We also found differences in risk factors, for example, pregnancy and birth complications associated strongly with SZ risk, and several somatic conditions were associated with DEP. It should be noted that many meta-analyses were low quality and based on a small number of original studies. More high-quality longitudinal research is needed on many risk factors to be able to evaluate their validity in single outcomes and their potential specificity or non-specificity.

One of the challenges of psychological research is obtaining a sample representative of the general population. One largely overlooked participant characteristic is sub-clinical levels of psychiatric symptoms.

The distinction between passive and active suicidal ideation (SI) and their underlying etiologies remains poorly understood. The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide implicates guilt, loneliness, and hopelessness in these SI subtypes, but there is minimal work testing these relationships in real time, capturing clinically meaningful fluctuations in SI. We conducted the first ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study to distinguish between passive and active SI in adolescents, and the first study to evaluate moment-to-moment etiological factors and mediators of passive and active SI in this age group.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is closely associated with suicide, which often begins with suicidal ideation (SI). However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear.

Alterations in reward responsiveness represent a key mechanism implicated in youth depression risk. However, not all youth with these alterations develop depression, suggesting the presence of factors that may moderate risk patterns. As socioeconomic disadvantage is also related to youth depression risk, particularly for youth exhibiting altered reward function, this study examined whether indices of family- and neighborhood-level disadvantage interacted with electrocortical reward responsivity to predict depression symptom trajectories across childhood and adolescence.

Neuroticism, a personality trait linked to both cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, has been associated with cognitive decline and increased dementia risk, though the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Mapping its relationship with brain structure could provide valuable insights into neural pathways and targets for early intervention.

Given substantial comorbidity among, and considerable heterogeneity within, psychiatric diagnoses, researchers have suggested alternative systems for classifying psychopathology. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a recently proposed framework for understanding mental disorders based on how symptoms and diagnoses tend to cluster across individuals. While the model is grounded in existing research and supported by recent meta-analytic evidence, its structure has not yet been directly tested using large, representative clinical datasets. In this study, we used electronic health record (EHR) data to examine the overall organization of mental disorders as proposed by HiTOP, with the goal of informing future research on biological and environmental risk factors as well as important life outcomes.

Anhedonia and depression symptoms have been linked to potential deficits in reward learning. However, how anhedonia impacts the ability to adjust and learn about the effort required to obtain rewards remains unclear.

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD); however, the causal contributions of specific mitochondrial genes across regulatory layers remain unclear.

Major depressive episodes (MDEs) are highly recurrent in clinical samples. However, the course of MDEs and predictors of their endurance are unclear in the general youth population.

Psychomotor disturbance has long been observed in major depressive disorder (MDD) and is thought to be a key indicator of illness course. However, dominant methods of measuring psychomotor disturbance, via self-report and clinician ratings, often lack objectivity and may be less sensitive to subtle psychomotor disturbances. Furthermore, the neural mechanisms of psychomotor disturbance in MDD remain unclear.

Severe mental disorders (SMDs) impose profound suffering on patients and heavy burdens on family caregivers, often resulting in abusive behaviors. This study aimed to examine the association between psychiatric symptom severity and caregiver abuse, and to assess whether caregiver tobacco dependence moderates this relationship.

Alterations in the central and peripheral energy metabolism are increasingly recognized as key pathophysiological processes in psychiatric disorders. We investigated mitochondrial respiration and density linked to cellular energy metabolism and oxidative DNA damage in borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Depression rates are higher in women, especially during periods of hormonal fluctuation. Reproductive system disorders (RSDs), which often disrupt hormonal balance, may contribute to this mental health burden. Despite their prevalence and significant health implications, the link between RSDs and depression remains underexplored, leaving a gap in understanding these women's mental health risks.

Individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) face markedly increased excess mortality, yet the long-term trends and key contributing factors remain insufficiently characterized. This study aimed to examine long-term mortality patterns, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), and associated factors in a FEP cohort.

Social interaction is a primary aspect of communicating how others judge us. It allows us to update ourselves and our expectations about others. While humans generally exhibit self-related positive biases in their updating behavior, theoretical accounts propose that this biased processing is attenuated, absent, or negatively biased in participants with depressive symptoms. The process of aligning and integrating social evaluative feedback in realistic interaction scenarios that would test this assumption is, however, lacking. We provide an event-related potential (ERP) study that combines neuronal (feedback-related negativity [FRN] and late positive potential [LPP]) and behavioral measures of evaluative feedback processing and updating behavior.

How psychotic symptoms, depressive symptoms, cognitive deficits, and functional impairment may interact with one another in schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is unclear.

Insight into psychosis is a multidimensional construct involving awareness of illness, attribution of symptoms, and perceived need for treatment. Despite extensive research, substantial variability in how insight is conceptualized and measured continues to hinder clinical assessment and cross-study comparisons.

Sexual minorities have continuously been found to experience poorer mental health compared to the general population, despite promising changes in attitudes and legislation throughout the 21st century in many Western countries. The present study is one of the first to assess group-level changes over time in mental health among sexual minorities compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

Shared genetic risk has been shown across psychiatric disorders. In particular, anorexia nervosa (AN), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and schizophrenia (SCZ) show shared genetic risk that matches clinical evidence of shared illness and cognitive phenotypes. Given this evidence, we leveraged a large US-based population-based study to determine genetic associations of disorder-specific and shared psychiatric, cognitive, and brain markers and explore whether the latter might be state versus trait markers in eating disorders.

Childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) is an underrecognized condition with consequences for mothers and infants. This study aimed to determine risk factors for CB-PTSD symptoms across countries within a stress-diathesis framework, focusing on antenatal, birth-related, and postpartum predictors.

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is increasingly recognized as a vital tool for tracking the fluctuating nature of mental states and symptoms in psychiatric research. However, determining the optimal sampling rate - that is, deciding how often participants should be queried to report their symptoms - remains a significant challenge. To address this issue, our study utilizes the Nyquist-Shannon theorem from signal processing, which establishes that any sampling rate more than twice the highest frequency component of a signal is adequate.

The high incidence of new cases of anxiety disorders highlights the need for scalable preventive interventions, which can be achieved through information and communication technologies. To our knowledge, no meta-analysis has been conducted to evaluate purely digital preventive interventions for anxiety in all types of populations. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of digital interventions for the prevention of anxiety disorders. Systematic searches were conducted in six electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, OpenGrey, and CENTRAL) from inception to December 12, 2024. Inclusion criteria for the studies were as follows: (1) randomized controlled trials (RCTs), (2) psychological or psychoeducational digital interventions to prevent anxiety, and (3) all types of populations without anxiety at baseline of the study. A total of 15 studies (19 comparisons; 6093 participants) were included in the systematic review. One study was identified as an outlier and was therefore excluded from the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis showed a small effect in favor of preventive interventions among non-anxious and varied populations (standardized mean difference = -0.32, 95% confidence interval: -0.44 to -0.20; p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of this finding. We found no evidence of publication bias. Heterogeneity was high, however, a meta-regression that included one variable (country, the Netherlands) explained 100% of the variance. All RCTs, except two, had a high risk of bias, and the quality of the evidence, according to Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation, was very low. There is a need to develop and evaluate new digital preventive interventions with a rigorous methodology.

As populations age rapidly, understanding the psychological benefits of sustained employment has become increasingly important. In South Korea, where the suicide rate among older adults is one of the highest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, identifying modifiable social determinants, such as employment, may inform effective prevention strategies.

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are considered a subclinical component of psychosis continuum. Studies indicate that PLEs arise from multimodal factors, yet research comprehensively examining these factors together remains scarce. Using a large youth sample, we present the first model that simultaneously examines multimodal factors related to PLEs. As a secondary aim, we evaluate the model's ability to explain psychosis in an external validation cohort that included individuals experiencing psychosis.

Recovery rates for panic disorder in NHS Talking Therapies (NHSTT) services in the United Kingdom do not match those in randomized trials. Previous research has found that training therapists in 'focused cognitive behavioral therapy' (CBT) improves outcomes. The primary aim was to examine whether focused CBT delivered by trained psychological well-being practitioners (PWPs) can improve treatment outcomes for panic disorder. An exploratory aim was to evaluate the potential impact of a novel component of focused CBT, which includes the use of 'approach-supporting behaviors' (ASBs) where safety-seeking behaviors (SSBs) are prominent.

The nosology of mania has long been a conundrum. Prior studies have alternately concluded that it is an internalizing disorder, a thought disorder, or a unique condition. Unfortunately, nearly all existing studies assessed symptoms cross-sectionally. This is problematic for syndromes that follow a more episodic course, such as mania. Here, we test whether including a history of episodes, not simply current symptoms, can help resolve the placement of mania in the meta-structure of psychopathology.

Schizophrenia features pervasive insight deficits, with many failing to recognize symptoms or the need for treatment, predictors of poorer outcomes. Rather than unitary, insight comprises clinical (awareness of illness and need for care) and cognitive (self-reflectiveness and the ability to question one's beliefs). This review examines whether mental time travel (MTT) - vivid recollection of past events and construction of detailed future scenarios - may underlie insight deficits in schizophrenia. We synthesize evidence up to May 2025 from meta-analyses, experimental studies, and neuroimaging/neuroanatomical reports on MTT (autobiographical memory specificity, future simulation, temporal horizon) and their associations with clinical and cognitive insight. Individuals with schizophrenia show reduced autobiographical specificity, future simulation vividness, alongside a narrowed temporal horizon. These impairments are linked to diminished self-reflection, narrative coherence, and metacognitive abilities, all of which are essential for accurate illness recognition. Neuroimaging indicates that the networks supporting mental time travel, self-reflection, and insight - particularly the default-mode and ventromedial prefrontal circuits - substantially overlap and are disrupted in schizophrenia, with heterogeneity across illness stage and analytic approach. Moderators such as negative symptoms and trauma appear to intensify the MTT-insight links, while depressive mood may paradoxically enhance illness awareness. Although therapies targeting episodic specificity and metacognitive mastery show promise, longitudinal and interventional evidence remains limited. Associations between MTT impairments and insight are robust but largely correlational, so reverse or bidirectional causality cannot be excluded. We outline priorities for longitudinal, interventional, and trauma-stratified studies - attentive to illness stage and default-mode dynamics - to clarify mechanisms and guide targeted interventions.