Poster #19 - EEG Frontal Asymmetry Moderates the Impact of Temperament and Executive Function on Conduct Problems in Middle Childhood

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

Children showing conduct problems in middle childhood may experience adverse psychosocial outcomes in adolescence and adulthood (Frick, 2004; Fergusson et al., 2005). Literature suggests that conduct problems are associated with aspects of temperament (Frick & Morris, 2004), executive functioning (Oosterlan et al., 1998), and physiological markers (Lorber, 2004).
Negative affectivity (NA) is a reactive component of temperament that depicts the extent to which an individual experiences a negative emotional state (Rothbart & Bates, 2006). Evidence suggests that NA is a robust positive predictor of children’s conduct problems (Frick & Morris, 2004). Attentional control (AC) is a component of effortful control pertaining to the ability to flexibly focus and shift attention (Rothbart et al. 2001). Lower AC is associated with greater conduct problems in middle childhood (Zeng et al., 2022). Working memory (WM), the process of maintaining and processing information in the mind during complex cognitive tasks (Baddeley, 1992), was found lower for children with conduct problems compared to controls (Saarinen et al., 2015). Frontal EEG asymmetry (FA) indicates asymmetrical frontal brain electrical activity. Greater right asymmetry is linked with internalizing problems (Fox et al., 2001) while greater left asymmetry is linked with externalizing behaviors (Smith & Bell, 2010).
Our study specifically assessed the collective impact of children’s negative affectivity, attentional control, working memory, and EEG frontal asymmetry at age 6 on children’s conduct problems at age 9. Importantly, we examined whether FA would moderate the relations between NA, AC, and WM respectively with conduct problems.
This study included 285 (144 girls) children. Child NA was maternally reported via CBQ-SF (Putnam & Rothbart, 2006). AC was measured via an I-spy like search task (Espy & Bull, 2005). WM was measured by a backwards digit span task. EEG was recorded during a 2-minute video baseline. Positive and negative FA values indicate greater left and right activation, respectively. Children’s conduct problems were maternally reported via CBCL 6-18 (Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001).
A three-step hierarchical regression model was conducted via SPSS 28. Step 1 controlled for sex. Step 2 added NA, AC, WM, and FA as predictors to the model. The change in R2 for step 2 was significant (p < .001). Step 3 added the interactions between FA with NA, AC, and WM. The change in R2 for step 3 was significant (p=.002). NA was significant as a main effect (b=.249, p < .001), indicating that greater levels of NA at age 6 predicted greater conduct problems at age 9, but not as interaction effect. The interactions between WM (b=-.151, p=.004) and AC (b=-.135, p=.015) respectively with FA were significant. Figures 1 and 2 respectively show that lower levels of both AC and WM predict for conduct problems only when children with high (i.e., left) FA.
Results suggest the importance that child FA has in the development of conduct problems in middle childhood. Future studies should assess the impact of FA on the development of conduct problems during early childhood.

Authors

• Mohamed G. Zerrouk, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Presenting Author

• Martha Ann Bell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University