Complex Interconnections Between Personality, Emotional, and Metacognitive Dysfunctions: A Comparative Network Analysis in Adolescent and Adult Populations

Limited research has examined how personality constructs within the alternative model of personality disorders (AMPD) framework are related to intrapsychic processes such as emotion regulation difficulties and metacognitive beliefs and how these components jointly interact as an integrated system across developmental stages. The present study addressed this gap by applying a network analytic approach to investigate the structural interrelations among these domains in adolescent and adult community samples. Participants included 470 adolescents aged 14-17 years and 740 adults from the general population (total N = 1210), all of whom completed validated self-report measures assessing personality functioning, maladaptive personality traits, emotion regulation difficulties, and metacognitive beliefs. Age-adjusted networks were estimated using regularized partial correlations. Network structure, centrality, and clustering indices were examined and compared across age groups. Across both samples, personality functioning, maladaptive traits, emotion dysregulation, and metacognitive beliefs formed a densely interconnected network, indicating substantial overlap and mutual association among domains. Network architectures were broadly similar between adolescents and adults, suggesting substantial structural continuity across development. At the same time, differences in centrality and clustering metrics indicated age-related shifts in the relative prominence of specific traits, emotion regulation difficulties, and metacognitive processes. Overall, the findings support a systems-based view of personality pathology in which core dysfunctions, traits, and intrapsychic processes dynamically interact from adolescence into adulthood. By integrating multiple domains within a unified network framework, this study contributes to a more comprehensive and developmentally informed understanding of personality pathology.