Latent profiles of mood: Toward an empirical definition of mixed mood in youth.

Mixed mood states are a common presentation of pediatric mood disorders. However, their representation in categorical and dimensional taxonomies are misaligned with empirical findings, delaying treatment, and worsening outcomes for youth with mood disorders. To mitigate these negative outcomes, taxonomic representation of mixed mood states (e.g., concomitant symptoms and placement within taxonomic structure) must be reassessed. Therefore, the present study aimed to build empirical definitions of mood disorder dimensions and categorical episode presentations, including mixed mood states, using clinically relevant and substantiated assessments of depression and mania. All participants were families with children, ages 5-18, seeking outpatient mental health services between July 2003 to July 2007. An exploratory factor analysis found that a three-factor solution with manic, depressive, and psychomotor retardation factors best represented the data. A latent profile analyses differentiated seven profiles differentiable as (a) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, (b) Moderate Low Mood, (c) Major Depressive Episode, (d) Mixed Mood State, (e) Psychomotor Retardation Without Mood Symptoms, (f) Euthymia, (g) Adjustment Disorder and Other Mild Problems. Analyses indicate that depression, mania, and psychomotor retardation may be underlying mood dimensions that distinguish unique groups of youth. Findings also demonstrated that mixed-mood youth can be clearly identified using a dimensional approach despite categorical systems deprioritizing mixed presentation. This study contributes empirical findings that can be used to rebuild categorical or dimensional taxonomies of pediatric mood disorders, which would lead to improved, timely diagnosis and treatment for affected youth.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Journal of Affective Disorders

• Publication date

  2026-03-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2026.121548PMID 41794144
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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