Poster #25 - Temperamental Antecedents of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Externalizing Problems

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

According to Rothbart and colleagues (2001), three higher-order child temperament superfactors have been identified: (1) surgency, (2) negative affectivity, and (3) effortful control. Prior work has shown that children who exhibit elevated levels of surgency, negative affectivity, and poor effortful control are more likely to develop externalizing behaviors (Dollar & Stifter, 2016). Although current work has examined the association of temperament traits and dimensions to broad constructs of externalizing behaviors, no studies to date have simultaneously examined how these temperament constructs may relate to specific aspects of children’s externalizing problems. To address this gap, we examined three dimensions of child temperament as antecedents of distinct externalizing problem domains including callous-unemotional (CU) traits, conduct problems, oppositional defiance, and ADHD symptoms. Participants included 243 children (Mage = 4.6 years; 56% girls) and their mothers from diverse backgrounds (e.g., 48% Black) who took part in a longitudinal multi-method project with two measurement occasions spaced two years apart (retention rate = 91%). Observations of temperamental surgency, negative affect, and effortful control were assessed in multiple laboratory tasks across two visits at Wave 1. Mothers reported on children’s callous-unemotional traits and three other forms of externalizing problems at each wave. Separate models were run for each temperament dimensions. As shown in Figure 1, we examined whether Wave 1 latent constructs of each form of temperament derived from multiple observational measures predicted children’s CU traits, conduct problems, oppositional-defiance, and ADHD symptoms at Wave 2 after controlling for the autoregressive effects of the Wave 1 forms of the externalizing problems. In Table 1, we presented the standardized loadings of the manifest indicators onto their latent constructs and the overall fit indices for the three models depicting each temperament construct as a predictor of the externalizing behavior outcomes. Across the three models, fit indices ranged from satisfactory to excellent (Kline, 2011). All standardized loadings were significant (ps < .001) and moderate to strong in magnitude (M (absolute value) = .61; range = .40-.79). The results from Model 1 indicated that children’s surgency was a significant predictor of residualized increases in their later ADHD symptoms ( = 0. 13, p < .05). Model 2 revealed that negative affectivity was prospectively associated with increases in children’s subsequent CU traits ( = 0.15, p < .05) and conduct problems ( = 0.16, p < .05). Lastly, Model 3 showed that lower levels of effortful control at Wave 1 was related to significant increases in residualized changes in both children’s conduct problems ( = -0.24, p < .05) and oppositional defiance ( = -0.16, p < .05) at Wave 3. Findings are interpreted in relation to how they inform and refine conceptual models on the temperamental origins of specific forms of psychological difficulties in the context of both spectrum models as well as vulnerability and resilience processes (see Nigg, 2006). By identifying specific temperamental antecedents that underpin distinct dimensions of children’s externalizing problems, the current study may also provide useful insights for the ongoing development of targeted early childhood interventions.

Authors

• Vanessa T Cao, University of Rochester
  Presenting Author

• Patrick Davies, University of Rochester

• Melissa L Sturge-Apple, University of Rochester