Inhibitory control as a moderator of maternal negative affect and children’s externalizing problems

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

There is a consensus in the developmental literature that both self-regulation (i.e., inhibitory control) and maternal negative affect impact the development of externalizing behaviors in childhood (e.g., Bater & Jordan, 2017; Marchand et al., 2002). Categorized as aggressive, disruptive, and impulsive, externalizing behaviors are considered a common form of childhood maladjustment (Campbell, 1995; Liu, 2004). While these behaviors change in frequency and form as children develop emotional, self, and attentional regulation strategies (Bongers et al., 2004; Hill et al., 2006; Olson et al., 2005) they can become severely debilitating if persistent (Reef et al., 2011). Given that early childhood externalizing behaviors set the stage for externalizing behaviors in middle childhood and adolescence (Bornstein et al., 2010), it’s pivotal to understand how maternal negative affect and developing inhibitory control work together in the expression of externalizing behaviors in order to prevent onset and further development of these potentially disruptive behaviors. We hypothesized that child inhibitory control would moderate the association between maternal negative interactions and child externalizing behaviors.

In a sample of 175 children (89 females), participants were administered a battery of behavioral tasks at 36 months. The Tongue Task (Kochanska et al., 2000; Wolfe & Bell, 2007) required participants to hold a goldfish cracker on their tongue, without chewing it, for increasing intervals of time. Inhibitory control was assessed by measuring how long the child was able to hold the cracker on their tongue. In order to assess general maternal negative affect, trained coders rated mother’s behaviors (anger, criticism, tone of voice, harsh control) during a 5-minute puzzle task that mother and child completed together. At 48 months, children’s externalizing symptoms were measured via maternal report using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenback & Edelbrock, 1983).

In a regression analysis, child inhibitory control, maternal negative affect, and the interaction between the two at 36-months were entered as predictors of externalizing symptoms at 48 months. The model was significant [R2 = .06, F(3,171) = 3.85, p = .01]. There was a significant interaction between maternal negative affect and child inhibitory control (p = .02; b = -78.99; see Table 1). Simple slopes analysis at one SD above and below the mean for inhibitory control showed that children with deficiencies in inhibitory who were exposed to higher levels of maternal negative affect were more likely to develop an increasing number of externalizing symptoms (p = .048, b = 36.36). There was no significant interaction between maternal negative affect and externalizing problems for children high in inhibitory control (see Figure 1).

Findings build on existing literature demonstrating the importance of developing strong regulatory behaviors to prevent potentially adverse outcomes, especially during a period of critical self-regulatory development in early childhood. These findings also highlight the impact that maternal negative affect has on children’s behavioral development even in situations with low to moderate levels of stress (i.e., a simple puzzle task). High inhibitory control may act as a protective factor against externalizing behaviors in situations of strong maternal negativity.

Authors

• Briana Ermanni, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Presenting Author

• Ran Liu, Columbia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Martha Ann Bell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Non-Presenting Author