Poster #15 - Inhibitory Control as a Moderator of the Relation Between Early Childhood Hyperactivity and Aggression/Depression Symptoms

• In Event: Poster Session 19

Abstract

Understanding risk for externalizing and internalizing symptoms at young ages is critical. One potential risk factor for the development of such problems is executive function (EF) difficulties, as EF skills help children better regulate emotions and behavior and are rapidly developing during this period. EF is particularly important in the context of children at heightened risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has been linked to cognitive challenges and affective dysregulation. However, little work has examined the role of EF skills in the co-occurrence of ADHD symptoms and externalizing/internalizing symptomology in younger children or longitudinally (D’Agati 2019; Maric et al., 2018). Therefore, a first goal of this study was to longitudinally examine associations between hyperactivity/impulsivity and later aggression, depression, and anxiety– symptoms at the core of the most commonly comorbid externalizing and internalizing disorders. A second goal was to understand the variation in the degree to which a key EF skill, inhibitory control (IC), contributes to comorbid symptomology in young children. Exploring variation in IC may present a new pathway to intervention and inform support for adaptive social-emotional outcomes, especially among children at risk for externalizing/internalizing symptoms due to elevated hyperactivity/impulsivity. Therefore, the central question of the current study asks: does IC moderate the relation between hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms and symptoms of depression, aggression, and anxiety in young children?

The present study included 68 children (46 boys, 21 girls, 1 transgender girl) between 4 and 7 years old (M = 5.96, SE = 0.90) who participated in a longitudinal study with two time points 18 months apart. Children included in the study showed no more than three (low symptom group), or at least six (high symptom group), symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity at T1 on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (Shaffer et al., 2000). Anxiety, depression, and aggression symptoms were assessed by parent report using the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) at T2. Lastly, a measure of inhibitory control was calculated from participants’ performance on two behavioral tasks – child-friendly versions of a Go/No-Go task and flanker task (Lamm et al., 2014; McDermott et al., 2007) – completed at T2.

Results revealed that IC was a significant moderator of the relation between early hyperactivity/impulsivity and later depression symptoms (b = -0.41, SE = 0.14, p = .004), and between hyperactivity/impulsivity and later aggression symptoms (b = -0.11, SE = 0.02, p < .001). For both, follow-up simple slope analyses revealed that for children with low IC, hyperactivity/impulsivity significantly predicted depression and aggression symptoms, but not for children with high IC. In contrast, IC was not a significant moderator of the relation between hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms and anxiety symptoms.

These findings indicate that IC is an important mechanism in understanding risk for co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems in children with early hyperactivity/impulsivity. This study also highlights that finding ways to enhance IC or promote compensatory strategies may be an important avenue to inform more effective intervention approaches among young children with heightened risk for ADHD, and comorbid aggressive or depressive issues.

Authors

• Christina M Hogan, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Presenting Author

• Rosanna Breaux, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Hallie Brown, Weill Cornell Medicine

• Claudia Isabel Lugo-Candelas

• Elizabeth A Harvey, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Jennifer Martin McDermott, University of Massachusetts Amherst