Poster #10 - Relations among inhibitory control deficits, social information processing, and social-emotional behavior in preschool children

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

Introduction. Executive function (EF) has been associated with children’s social-emotional development in numerous studies (Riggs, Jahromi, Razza, Dillworth-Bart, & Mueller, 2006; Wolfe et al., 2013). Deficits in EF inhibitory control in particular have been associated with social-emotional dysfunction (Zelazo, Carlson, & Kesek, 2008). Further, studies have indicated a link between children’s social information processing (SIP), EF, and behavior (Denham, Bassett, Way, Kalb, Warren-Khot, & Zinsser, 2014). SIP involves processes of how individuals react to social encounters, particularly how they interpret emotions and make decisions about how to respond (Crick & Dodge, 1994). The current study is part of a larger pilot study investigating the effects of a brief classroom-based mindfulness intervention.

Hypotheses. It was expected that deficits in inhibitory control would be associated with greater behavioral problems. Similarly, inhibitory control deficits were expected to relate to more aggressive and less prosocial choices. Finally, it was hypothesized that EF would moderate the relations between aggressive and prosocial behavioral choices and social-emotional functioning.

Methods. Children from four Head Start classrooms (N = 48) completed follow-up testing after the conclusion of a brief mindfulness-based intervention. Children completed the Challenging Situations Task to measure SIP (CST; Denham et al., 1994). During the task, children were presented with pictures of challenging peer situations and were asked how they would respond (i.e. prosocial vs. aggressive behavior). Classroom teachers rated child social-emotional functioning and executive dysfunction by completing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Preschool version (BRIEF-P; Gioia, Espy, & Isquith, 2003), respectively.

Results. T-tests revealed that teachers reported that females (M = 21.08, SD = 6.11) demonstrated less inhibitory control dysfunction (lower scores on the inhibit subscale of the BRIEF-P) than males (M = 26.30, SD = 7.80, p<.05). Pearson correlations indicated that for the whole sample, teacher-reported inhibitory control dysfunction was positively correlated with total behavioral difficulties on the SDQ, r(46) = .48, p<.01. Child self-reported endorsement of aggressive and prosocial behavior were negatively correlated with each other, r(46) = -.56, p<.001). Neither aggressive nor prosocial behavior was associated with total behavioral difficulties or teacher-reported inhibitory control dysfunction. Analyses demonstrated that when controlling for gender, inhibitory control dysfunction moderated the relation between child-reported aggressive behavioral intentions on the CST and teacher-reported total behavior problems, R2Δ=.21, F(1, 35)=15.52, p<.001, B=.12, t=3.94, p<.001. Examination of the interaction plot indicated that as aggressive behavioral intentions increased, total behavioral difficulties increased for children with inhibitory control dysfunction. Conversely, for children with better inhibitory control, total behavior problems decreased when aggressive behavioral intentions increased. Inhibitory control did not moderate the relation between prosocial behavior and behavioral difficulties.

Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that EF inhibitory control is an important construct in understanding the relation between children’s social information processing and behavioral difficulties. Further, greater inhibitory control appears to play a protective role against behavioral problems for children who endorse greater aggressive intentions.

Authors

• Elisabeth J O'Rourke, University at Albany
  Presenting Author

• Leslie F Halpern, University at Albany
  Non-Presenting Author

• Atara Siegel, University at Albany
  Non-Presenting Author

• Joseph Bettcher, University at Albany
  Non-Presenting Author