The error-related negativity (ERN) has demonstrated mixed associations with internalizing psychopathology. An enhanced ERN is associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and some anxiety disorders, whereas an attenuated ERN is associated with depression. This pattern of results suggests that the ERN may relate to transdiagnostic dimensions within the internalizing spectrum. The present study examined relationships between the ERN and internalizing psychopathology at the symptom, subfactor (i.e., distress, obsessions/compulsions), and spectrum (i.e., internalizing) levels. In a sample of 818 adults, higher-order mediation modeling was used to estimate direct effects of the ERN on each hierarchical dimension, as well as indirect effects via higher-order dimensions. At the subfactor level, a larger ERN was directly related to greater obsessive/compulsive symptoms, while a smaller ERN was directly related to a greater distress subfactor. None of the self-reported symptoms were directly related to the ERN, and total effects of the ERN on dysphoria, insomnia, and ill temper were primarily explained by higher-order indirect effects via the distress subfactor and internalizing spectrum. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the hierarchical nature of the relationship between the ERN and internalizing psychopathology. These results suggest that many observed relationships between the ERN and psychopathology symptoms can be attributed to intermediate subfactor dimensions of internalizing psychopathology, but discrepant relationships with the ERN exist within the broader internalizing spectrum.