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Impulsivity increases the risk for depression and anxiety. However, the granular pathways among them remain unknown. A network approach that moves from disorder-level analysis to symptom-level analysis can provide further understanding of psychopathological mechanisms. In this study, we examined the network structure of impulsivity and separate and comorbid symptoms of depression and anxiety. Regularized partial-correlation networks were estimated using cross-sectional data from 1047 Chinese participants aged 18–26 years (main dataset, mean age = 21.45 ± 2.01 years) and 325 Chinese participants aged 18–36 years (an independent replication dataset, mean age = 21.49 ± 3.73 years), including impulsivity-depression, impulsivity-anxiety, and impulsivity-depression-anxiety networks. The datasets were collected from 1 June 2023 to 4 August 2023 and from 27 April 2022 to 16 May 2022, respectively. Impulsivity, depression, and anxiety were assessed using Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, respectively. Bridge centrality was analyzed, and a network comparison test (NCT) was conducted to investigate the differences between the main dataset and replication dataset. The motor impulsivity dimension was revealed to be closely connected with individual symptoms of depression and anxiety regardless of whether they were in separate disorder forms or comorbid forms. In all the networks, motor impulsivity was the most important bridge node. The NCT showed comparable network connectivity and network structure between the main and replication datasets. The use of cross-sectional data limited the inferences about the direction of causality between variables. These findings elucidate the psychopathological mechanisms underlying how impulsivity functions within depression, anxiety, and comorbidity and support that motor impulsivity is an important risk factor across different mental disorders and is responsible for comorbidity. The implications of these findings are discussed. • The links of impulsivity with depression, anxiety and comorbidities were examined. • Motor impulsivity was strongly associated with depression and anxiety symptoms. • Motor impulsivity was a risk factor across depression, anxiety, and comorbidity. • Disorders and comorbidity were understood from the perspective of impulsivity. • Network connectivity and structure showed no significant difference (p s ≥ 0.10). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevailing mobile phone use brought the problem of addiction, which might cause negative consequences. Effortful control and mind wandering were associated with addictive behavior. The present study aimed to investigate the dimension-level relationships between effortful control, mind wandering, and mobile phone addiction. Methods: A total of 1684 participants participated this study. The mobile phone addiction, effortful control, and mind wandering were measured through self-report scales, respectively. Dimension-level network of these psychological variables was estimated and bridge expected influence (BEI) values for each node was calculated. Results: Dimensions of mobile phone addiction, effortful control, and mind wandering exhibited distinct and complex links to each other. The node "activation control" exhibited the highest negative BEI value (BEI = −0.32), whereas "spontaneous thinking" showed the highest positive BEI value (BEI = 0.20). Conclusions: Different dimensions of effortful control and mind wandering had varied yet significant connections with distinct dimensions of mobile phone addiction, facilitating understanding of the specific pathways underlying the three constructs. The identified dominant bridge nodes can provide potential targets for the intervention of mobile phone addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]