Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
Developmental Clinical Psychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Dev Psychopathol. 2021 Oct;33(4):1437-1447. doi: 10.1017/S0954579420000619.
Externalizing behaviors (EBs) pertain to a diverse set of aggressive, antisocial, and potentially destructive behaviors directed toward the external environment. They range from nonclinical to clinical in severity, associated with opposition, aggression, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, and are considered a risk factor for the emergence of psychopathology later in adulthood. Focusing on community adolescents (N = 102; 49 female and 53 male adolescents; age range 12-19 years), this study aimed to explore the relations between EBs and the cortical thickness of regions of interest as well as to identify possible risk markers that could improve understanding of the EB construct. Using a mixed cross-sectional and prospective design (1-year follow-up), we report specific associations with cortical thickness of the left insular, right orbitofrontal, and left anterior cingulate cortex. Specifically, thinner left insular and right orbitofrontal cortex was associated with higher EBs, and thinner left anterior cingulate cortex predicted less reduction in EBs 1 year later. In addition, further examination of the aggression and rule-breaking subscales of the Youth/Adult Self-Report, used to assess EBs, revealed specific associations with insular subregions. Findings suggest that cortical structure morphology may significantly relate to the expression and maintenance of EBs within the general population of adolescents.
外化行为（EBs）涉及一系列不同的攻击性、反社会和潜在破坏性的行为，这些行为指向外部环境。它们的严重程度从非临床到临床不等，与对立、攻击、多动或冲动有关，被认为是成年后出现精神病理学的一个风险因素。本研究聚焦于社区青少年（N=102；49 名女性和 53 名男性青少年；年龄范围 12-19 岁），旨在探讨 EBs 与感兴趣区域的皮质厚度之间的关系，并确定可能的风险标志物，以提高对 EBs 结构的理解。使用混合横断面和前瞻性设计（1 年随访），我们报告了与左侧脑岛、右侧眶额皮质和左侧前扣带皮质厚度的特定关联。具体而言，左侧脑岛和右侧眶额皮质变薄与 EBs 水平较高有关，而左侧前扣带皮质变薄则预示着 1 年后 EBs 的减少程度较低。此外，对用于评估 EBs 的青少年/成人自我报告的攻击和违反规则子量表的进一步检查显示与脑岛子区域的特定关联。研究结果表明，皮质结构形态可能与一般青少年人群中 EBs 的表达和维持密切相关。
