Effortful control moderates the relation between negative emotionality and socially appropriate behavior

A genetically informed longitudinal study of early-life temperament and childhood aggression

The present study examined the longitudinal associations between three dimensions of temperament - activity, affect-extraversion, and task orientation - and childhood aggression. Using 131 monozygotic and 173 dizygotic (86 same-sex) twin pairs from the Louisville Twin Study, we elucidated the ages, from 6 to 36 months, at which each temperament dimension began to correlate with aggression at age 7. We employed latent growth modeling to show that developmental increases (i.e., slopes) in activity were positively associated with aggression, whereas increases in affect-extraversion and task orientation were negatively associated with aggression. Genetically informed models revealed that correlations between temperament and aggression were primarily explained by common genetic variance, with nonshared environmental variance accounting for a small proportion of each correlation by 36 months. Genetic variance explained the correlations of the slopes of activity and task orientation with aggression. Nonshared environmental variance accounted for almost half of the correlation between the slopes of affect-extraversion and aggression. Exploratory analyses revealed quantitative sex differences in each temperament-aggression association. By establishing which dimensions of temperament correlate with aggression, as well as when and how they do so, our work informs the development of future child and family interventions for children at highest risk of aggression.

Negative Emotionality and Internalizing Behaviors in Preschool Children: Moderating Role of Inhibitory Control

Negative emotionality in childhood is typically positively associated with internalizing behaviors, whereas inhibitory control is negatively associated with internalizing behaviors. Recent work, however, has also found that inhibitory control paradoxically increases risk for internalizing behaviors in the context of some reactive temperamental styles. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether inhibitory control moderated the association between negative emotionality and prospective internalizing behaviors in typically developing preschoolers (N = 104, 51 girls, M_age = 3.46 years, SD_age = 0.19). We found that negative emotionality at T1 was only positively associated with internalizing behaviors at T2 in preschoolers with relatively higher inhibitory control. Our results suggest that relatively high levels of inhibitory control may be less adaptive for children who also have relatively high levels of negative emotionality. Findings are discussed in the context of cognitive overcontrol in understanding risk for internalizing behaviors before formal school entry.

Affect, Behaviors of Children With Intellectual Disabilities and Parents' Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. To prevent the spread of the virus, China implemented restrictions on going out and ensured that people stayed at home. This study aims to investigate the affect and behaviors of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) during the lockdown. The informal coping strategies adopted by parents and their effects were further evaluated.

Methods

In this study, a total of 457 parents of children (mean age: 14.82 years ± 1.96) with ID in 12 provincial administrative regions across China were surveyed online using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and our own questionnaire on daily behaviors, problem behaviors and informal coping strategies.

Results

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive affect (PA) score was significantly higher than that of negative affect (NA) (p < 0.001). Some children experienced mostly positive changes in sleep (16.63%), communication (14.66%), and diet (5.69%). However, more than one-third (39.39%) exhibited problem behaviors such as hyperactivity. A significant correlation was found between affect and behavior. The informal coping measures adopted by parents were generally effective among affect and the relationship with problem behaviors.

Conclusions

The affect of the children with ID at home was mainly positive. The overall behaviors (diet, sleep, and communication) were good, but there were problem behaviors. Effective coping strategies are associated with higher PA, lower NA, and fewer problem behaviors. The greater the number of effective coping strategies, the lesser the problem behaviors.