Work

Executive control and dimensions of problem behaviors in preschool children

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread recognition of the importance of executive control (EC) in externalizing psychopathology, the relation between EC and problem behavior has not been well characterized, particularly in typically developing preschoolers. METHOD: Using the sample, battery of laboratory tasks, and latent variable modeling methods described in Wiebe, Espy, and Charak (2008), systematic latent dimensions of parent-rated problem behavior, measured by integrating scales from developmental and clinical traditions, were determined empirically, and then were related to EC. RESULTS: Substantial relations between EC and problem behaviors were revealed by extracting the common variance of interest and eliminating extraneous variance, which were robust to estimated child intelligence and differed somewhat in preschool boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Preschool EC measured by laboratory tasks appears to tap abilities that strongly and robustly support broad control processes enabling behavioral regulation across cognitive and emotional domains.

Source: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02265.x

Authors: Kimberly Andrews Espy, Tiffany D. Sheffield, Sandra A. Wiebe, Caron A.C. Clark, Matthew J. Moehr

Institutions: University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development