Collective efficacy predicts externalizing behavior in children: The moderating effect of heart rate and gender

• In Event: The Heart, the Brain and the Gut: Different Biological Perspectives on Behavior

Abstract

Reduced collective efficacy in the neighborhood has been linked to higher risk for delinquent behavior in children and adolescents. However, this relationship has been moderated by gender, and individual characteristics such as low autonomic arousal. In the current study, data from 246 children (8-10 years) were used to examine the relationships among neighborhood social processes, autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning, and childhood externalizing behaviors. Children’s aggressive and delinquent behaviors were assessed via parent’s report, and their heart rate (HR) was recorded during a resting period. Collective efficacy, including social control and social cohesion, were assessed via parent’s report. Multiple regression analyses were performed to investigate the main effects of neighborhood social processes, ANS activity, and their interacting effects on aggressive/ delinquent behavior in boys and girls separately. Results showed that low collective efficacy was associated with increased delinquency in boys (but not girls). In addition, the interaction between social control and HR was linked to aggressive behavior in boys, in which lower social control was associated with increased aggression only in those with higher HR (p=0.0198). In contract, the interaction between social control and HR, as well as collective efficacy x HR, were associated with delinquency in girls, in which lower social control or collective efficacy were associated with increased delinquency at the levels of lower HR (p=0.01). Findings are the first to report the social control x HR interactive effects on antisocial behavior, and provide further support that the biosocial etiology of antisocial behavior differs for boys and girls.

Authors

• Wei Zhang, New Jersey City University

• Yu Gao, The Graduate Center, CUNY