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Liu X, Shang S, Zanette S, Zhang Y, Sun Q, Sai L. An experimental investigation of association between children’s lying and behavior problems. Front Psychol 2022; 13:982012. [PMID: 36072035 PMCID: PMC9443930 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.982012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children’s lying is a major concern for parents and teachers alike, not only because lying is an antisocial behavior but also because children’s lying correlates with other behavior problems, such as aggression and delinquency. Despite considerable correlational evidence demonstrating the relation between children’s lying and behavior problems, experimental evidence is scarce. This study uses a novel task to experimentally examine the relation between lying for personal reward and behavior problem symptoms among 9- to 11-year-old typically developed children (N = 275, 139 boys). Results revealed a positive correlation between children’s lying for personal reward and their behavior problem symptoms, and this correlation increases with age. Overall, this study provides experimental evidence suggesting children’s lying for personal reward is associated with behavior problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Liu
- Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Mental Health Counseling Center, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Siyuan Shang
- Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Sarah Zanette
- Luther College, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada
| | - Yongkang Zhang
- Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qingzhou Sun
- School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Qingzhou Sun,
| | - Liyang Sai
- Department of Psychology, School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Liyang Sai,
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Austerberry C, Mateen M, Fearon P, Ronald A. Heritability of Psychological Traits and Developmental Milestones in Infancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open 2022; 5:e2227887. [PMID: 35994288 PMCID: PMC9396365 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.27887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Although infancy is the most rapid period of postnatal growth and development, factors associated with variation in infant traits are not well understood. OBJECTIVE To synthesize the large twin study literature partitioning phenotypic variance in psychological traits and developmental milestones in infancy into estimates of heritability and shared and nonshared environment. DATA SOURCES PubMed, PsycINFO, and references of included publications were searched up to February 11, 2021. STUDY SELECTION Peer-reviewed publications using the classical twin design to study psychological traits and developmental milestones from birth to 2 years old were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Data were extracted in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version. Data were pooled in 3-level random effects models, incorporating within-cohort variance in outcome measurement and between-cohort variance. Data were analyzed from March 2021 through September 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcomes were monozygotic and dizygotic twin correlations. These were used to calculate genetic and shared and nonshared environment estimates. RESULTS Among 139 publications that were systematically retrieved, data were available on 79 044 twin pairs (31 053 monozygotic and 47 991 dizygotic pairs), 52 independent samples, and 21 countries. Meta-analyses were conducted on psychological traits and developmental milestones from 106 publications organized into 10 categories of functioning, disability, and health. Moderate to high genetic estimates for 8 categories were found, the highest of which was psychomotor functions (pooled h2, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.25-0.79; P < .001). Several categories of traits had substantial shared environment estimates, the highest being mental functions of language (pooled c2, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.24-0.86; P = .001). All examined categories of traits had moderate or high nonshared environment estimates, the highest of which were emotional functions (pooled e2, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.33-0.50; P < .001) and family relationships (pooled e2, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30-0.55; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These findings may be an important source of information to guide future gene discovery research, public perspectives on nature and nurture, and clinical insights into the degree to which family history and environments may estimate major domains of infant functioning, disability, and health in psychological traits and developmental milestones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe Austerberry
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Mateen
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Pasco Fearon
- Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Angelica Ronald
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Schütz J, Koglin U. A systematic review and meta-analysis of associations between self-regulation and morality in preschool and elementary school children. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03226-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe importance of self-regulatory skills for the socio-emotional competencies of children is being researched and discussed extensively. However, in order to make a clear statement about the impact of self-regulation on children’s morality, a systematic review of the literature is urgently needed. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to analyze associations between self-regulation and morality of preschool and elementary school children. In this context, distinctions among different definitions and operationalizations of self-regulation and morality are considered. Search terms were entered in the bibliographic databases PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science. To meet the inclusion criterion, studies needed to report empirical associations between self-regulation and morality in children of preschool and elementary school age. Furthermore, the studies should report primary data and be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal. Studies with secondary or summarized data, special populations or with certain designs were excluded. A total of 37 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. 35 of these studies were included in the meta-analysis. The narrative synthesis showed that different definitions and operationalizations were used for both self-regulation and morality. There also seems to be no consensus regarding the association between the constructs. Meta-analysis results revealed a small positive combined effect between self-regulation and morality, especially between temperament-related self-regulation and moral behavior and moral emotions. In order to gain a better understanding of the effects of self-regulation on morality, longitudinal research and further research addressing different forms of these constructs are essential.
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Friedman NP, Banich MT, Keller MC. Twin studies to GWAS: there and back again. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:855-869. [PMID: 34312064 PMCID: PMC8446317 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The field of human behavioral genetics has come full circle. It began by using twin/family studies to estimate the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences. As large-scale genotyping became cost-effective, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) yielded insights about the nature of genetic influences and new methods that use GWAS data to estimate heritability and genetic correlations invigorated the field. Yet these newer GWAS methods have not replaced twin/family studies. In this review, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches with respect to characterizing genetic and environmental influences, measurement of behavioral phenotypes, and evaluation of causal models, with a particular focus on cognitive neuroscience. This discussion highlights how twin/family studies and GWAS complement and mutually reinforce one another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi P Friedman
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - Marie T Banich
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Matthew C Keller
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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Rhee SH, Woodward K, Corley RP, du Pont A, Friedman NP, Hewitt JK, Hink LK, Robinson J, Zahn-Waxler C. The association between toddlerhood empathy deficits and antisocial personality disorder symptoms and psychopathy in adulthood. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 33:173-183. [PMID: 32115005 PMCID: PMC7483195 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419001676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined empathy deficits in toddlerhood (age 14 to 36 months) as predictors of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) symptoms and psychopathy measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) in adulthood (age 23 years) in 956 individuals from the Colorado Longitudinal Twin Study. Consistent with the hypothesis that antisocial behavior is associated with "active" rather than "passive" empathy deficits, early disregard for others, not lack of concern for others, predicted later ASPD symptoms. Early disregard for others was also significantly associated with factor 1 of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, which includes items assessing interpersonal and affective deficits, but not with factor 2, which includes items assessing impulsivity and poor behavioral control. The association between early disregard for others and psychopathy factor 2 was near zero after controlling for the shared variance between psychopathy factors 1 and 2. These results suggest that there is a propensity toward adulthood ASPD symptoms and psychopathy factor 1 that can be assessed early in development, which may help identify individuals most at risk for stable antisocial outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo Hyun Rhee
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Kerri Woodward
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Robin P Corley
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Alta du Pont
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Naomi P Friedman
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - John K Hewitt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Laura K Hink
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - JoAnn Robinson
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
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The Developmental Propensity Model Extends to Oppositional Defiant Disorder: a Twin Study. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 47:1611-1623. [PMID: 31065860 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-019-00556-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has supported the developmental propensity model, which proposes that three socioemotional dispositions (prosociality, negative emotionality, and daring) increase risk for the development of conduct problems through shared genetic and environmental influences. The current study extends this research by examining the model in relation to oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Based on a confirmatory factor analysis, ODD was examined as three separate dimensions (irritable, headstrong, and hurtful) rather than a unitary construct. Parents of 686 same-sex twins (ages 7-13) provided ratings of their twins' dispositions and ODD symptoms. Results from a path model examining phenotypic relationships showed that all dispositions were significantly related to each ODD dimension, except daring was not predictive of the irritable dimension. Preliminary twin analyses showed nonadditive genetic effects only on daring, which limited the appropriateness of evaluating it with the other dispositions. Results from a series of models used to examine etiological associations showed all ODD dimensions had common additive genetic influences with prosociality and negative emotionality. Only headstrong had common additive genetic influences with daring. Irritable and headstrong had common shared environmental influences with respect for rules (an aspect of prosociality), and common nonshared environmental influences with negative emotionality. Hurtful showed no shared environmental influences, but it had common nonshared environmental influences with prosociality and negative emotionality. These findings support the idea that the socioemotional dispositions in the developmental propensity model have some common etiological influences with ODD dimensions, suggesting this model can provide a novel framework for understanding the development of ODD.
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Hales H, Holt C, Delmage E, Lengua C. What next for adolescent forensic mental health research? CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH : CBMH 2019; 29:196-206. [PMID: 31478288 DOI: 10.1002/cbm.2124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A small proportion of every nation's young people become sufficiently antisocial to come into contact with the criminal justice system. Many also have disorders of mental health or emotional well-being. Although countries vary in designating age of criminal responsibility, all must provide services for offenders, perhaps as young as 10, both to help them and safeguard their peers and the wider public. AIM The aim of this article is to map the range of research required to support the development of satisfactory services for young mentally disordered offenders and identify knowledge gaps from a practitioner's perspective. METHODS Using a public health prevention framework, we identified the main streams of research pertinent to young, mentally disordered offenders and sought examples of each to consider the extent to which they have been used to inform service development in England. FINDINGS As in most countries, service development seems first driven by unusual, newsworthy cases. Overall, however, current English provision follows sound primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention principles with parallel tiers of service, including public health initiatives. Primary prevention and more specific treatments are likely to be informed by research findings, but service structure tends to emerge from a wider review base, including criminal justice, social and educational practitioner reviews, and also politics. Thus, services and populations of service users may change in advance of research evidence. Substantial reduction in numbers of young offenders in prison in England, for example, is clearly good in principle, but the intensity of need in the residual group is posing new challenges to which there are, yet, few answers. CONCLUSIONS Although the last 15 years of coordinated service development in England has been broadly theoretically based, it has not been systematically assessed to establish what works best for whom. New problems emerging, such as new drugs of misuse, and new opportunities, such as technology for supporting and monitoring, require model studies. More research focusing on correlates of success is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi Hales
- West London NHS Trust, Three Bridges Secure Unit, St Bernard's Hospital, Southall, UK
| | - Clare Holt
- STC Rainsbrook, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton, UK
| | - Enys Delmage
- Nga Taiohi and Hikitia Secure Adolescent Units, Kenepuru Hospital, Porirua, New Zealand
| | - César Lengua
- North East Commissioning Support Unit, Durham, UK
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Miller AB, Sheridan MA, Hanson JL, McLaughlin KA, Bates JE, Lansford JE, Pettit GS, Dodge KA. Dimensions of deprivation and threat, psychopathology, and potential mediators: A multi-year longitudinal analysis. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [PMID: 29528670 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Prior research demonstrates a link between exposure to childhood adversity and psychopathology later in development. However, work on mechanisms linking adversity to psychopathology fails to account for specificity in these pathways across different types of adversity. Here, we test a conceptual model that distinguishes deprivation and threat as distinct forms of childhood adversity with different pathways to psychopathology. Deprivation involves an absence of inputs from the environment, such as cognitive and social stimulation, that influence psychopathology by altering cognitive development, such as verbal abilities. Threat includes experiences involving harm or threat of harm that increase risk for psychopathology through disruptions in social-emotional processing. We test the prediction that deprivation, but not threat, increases risk for psychopathology through altered verbal abilities. Data were drawn from the Child Development Project (N = 585), which followed children for over a decade. We analyze data from assessment points at age 5, 6, 14, and 17 years. Mothers completed interviews at age 5 and 6 on exposure to threat and deprivation experiences. Youth verbal abilities were assessed at age 14. At age 17, mothers reported on child psychopathology. A path analysis model tested longitudinal paths to internalizing and externalizing problems from experiences of deprivation and threat. Consistent with predictions, deprivation was associated with risk for externalizing problems via effects on verbal abilities at age 14. Threat was associated longitudinally with both internalizing and externalizing problems, but these effects were not mediated by verbal abilities. Results suggest that unique developmental mechanisms link different forms of adversity with psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Bryant Miller
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Margaret A Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | | | | | - John E Bates
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University
| | | | - Gregory S Pettit
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University
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Does Preschool Self-Regulation Predict Later Behavior Problems in General or Specific Problem Behaviors? JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 45:1491-1502. [PMID: 28130704 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-016-0260-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Findings from prior research have consistently indicated significant associations between self-regulation and externalizing behaviors. Significant associations have also been reported between children's language skills and both externalizing behaviors and self-regulation. Few studies to date, however, have examined these relations longitudinally, simultaneously, or with respect to unique clusters of externalizing problems. The current study examined the influence of preschool self-regulation on general and specific externalizing behavior problems in early elementary school and whether these relations were independent of associations between language, self-regulation, and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 815 children (44% female). Additionally, given a general pattern of sex differences in the presentations of externalizing behavior problems, self-regulation, and language skills, sex differences for these associations were examined. Results indicated unique relations of preschool self-regulation and language with both general externalizing behavior problems and specific problems of inattention. In general, self-regulation was a stronger longitudinal correlate of externalizing behavior for boys than it was for girls, and language was a stronger longitudinal predictor of hyperactive/impulsive behavior for girls than it was for boys.
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Wakschlag LS, Perlman SB, Blair RJ, Leibenluft E, Briggs-Gowan MJ, Pine DS. The Neurodevelopmental Basis of Early Childhood Disruptive Behavior: Irritable and Callous Phenotypes as Exemplars. Am J Psychiatry 2018; 175:114-130. [PMID: 29145753 PMCID: PMC6075952 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17010045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The arrival of the Journal's 175th anniversary occurs at a time of recent advances in research, providing an ideal opportunity to present a neurodevelopmental roadmap for understanding, preventing, and treating psychiatric disorders. Such a roadmap is particularly relevant for early-childhood-onset neurodevelopmental conditions, which emerge when experience-dependent neuroplasticity is at its peak. Employing a novel developmental specification approach, this review places recent neurodevelopmental research on early childhood disruptive behavior within the historical context of the Journal. The authors highlight irritability and callous behavior as two core exemplars of early disruptive behavior. Both phenotypes can be reliably differentiated from normative variation as early as the first years of life. Both link to discrete pathophysiology: irritability with disruptions in prefrontal regulation of emotion, and callous behavior with abnormal fear processing. Each phenotype also possesses clinical and predictive utility. Based on a nomologic net of evidence, the authors conclude that early disruptive behavior is neurodevelopmental in nature and should be reclassified as an early-childhood-onset neurodevelopmental condition in DSM-5. Rapid translation from neurodevelopmental discovery to clinical application has transformative potential for psychiatric approaches of the millennium. [AJP at 175: Remembering Our Past As We Envision Our Future November 1938: Electroencephalographic Analyses of Behavior Problem Children Herbert Jasper and colleagues found that brain abnormalities revealed by EEG are a potential causal factor in childhood behavioral disorders. (Am J Psychiatry 1938; 95:641-658 )].
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren S Wakschlag
- From the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebr.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Conn.; and the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md
| | - Susan B Perlman
- From the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebr.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Conn.; and the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md
| | - R James Blair
- From the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebr.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Conn.; and the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- From the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebr.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Conn.; and the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md
| | - Margaret J Briggs-Gowan
- From the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebr.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Conn.; and the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md
| | - Daniel S Pine
- From the Department of Medical Social Sciences, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, and the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebr.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Conn.; and the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md
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The Association Between Toddlerhood Self-Control and Later Externalizing Problems. Behav Genet 2018; 48:125-134. [PMID: 29299783 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-017-9886-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Lower self-control is a significant correlate or predictor of a wide range of adult outcomes, and this association may be due to more general tendencies toward childhood externalizing problems. The present study examined the association between toddlerhood self-control expressed within a "don't" compliance task (at 14-36 months) and later externalizing problems (parent-reported externalizing problems from age 4 to 12 years, teacher-reported externalizing problems from age 7 to 12 years, and self-reported conduct disorder symptoms at age 17 years) in a longitudinal, genetically informative study. The slope of self-control, but not its intercept, predicted later teacher-reported, but not parent- or self-reported, externalizing problems. That is, increase in self-control during toddlerhood was associated with lower levels of later teacher-reported externalizing problems. The slope of self-control was no longer a significant predictor of teacher-reported externalizing problems after controlling for observed disregard for others, a robust predictor of externalizing problems. Thus, the hypothesis that self-control is the primary predictor of externalizing problems was not supported. Results from genetic analyses suggested that the covariance between the slope of self-control and teacher-reported externalizing problems is due to both genetic and shared environmental influences.
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