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Externalizing Behavior in at-Risk Preadolescents: Relationships among Effortful Control, Affective Experiences, and Autonomic Psychophysiology

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Abstract

This study examined the impact of autonomic self-regulation, affective experience, and effortful control on externalizing behavior in preadolescents (n = 360) deemed at-risk for aggression. Autonomic self-regulation was assessed using measurements of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and skin conductance levels as markers for parasympathetic and sympathetic functioning. Affective experience and effortful control constructs were derived using scales from the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling indicated that sympathetic and parasympathetic functioning predicted externalizing behavior even when accounting for the influence of temperament traits. These significant associations were small in magnitude. As expected, higher parasympathetic and lower sympathetic reactivity predicted greater externalizing behavior. Effortful control and affective experience also independently predicted problem behavior when accounting for autonomic functioning and each other’s influence as evidenced by small to medium significant associations. Lower levels of these constructs predicted higher problem behavior. Implications for the prevention and treatment of externalizing behavior are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This research has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (R01 DA023156) and the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (R01 HD079273).

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  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Kaiser Permanente, 3551 Whipple Road, Union City, CA, 94587, USA

    Luis A. Jimenez-Camargo & John E. Lochman

  2. The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Martin Sellbom

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  1. Luis A. Jimenez-Camargo
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Correspondence to Luis A. Jimenez-Camargo.

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Luis Alberto Jimenez-Camargo, John E. Lochman, and Martin Sellbom declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (R01DA023156) and the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (R01 HD079273).

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Jimenez-Camargo, L.A., Lochman, J.E. & Sellbom, M. Externalizing Behavior in at-Risk Preadolescents: Relationships among Effortful Control, Affective Experiences, and Autonomic Psychophysiology. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 39, 383–395 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-017-9604-z

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