Winebrake Deaven A, Huth Nicole, Gueron-Sela Noa, Propper Cathi, Mills-Koonce Roger, Bedford Rachael, Wagner Nicholas J
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University, 64 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
Psychology Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2024 Jun 15. doi: 10.1007/s10578-024-01716-z.
Deficits in effortful control (EC) contribute to patterns of maladaptation across development; however, little is known about how specific subfactors of EC differentially predict children's externalizing psychopathology. Using a longitudinal sample of 206 children (47.8% female, 42.6% Caucasian), the current study employed a bi-factor structural equation modeling approach to examine the concurrent and longitudinal associations between EC and its subfactors (i.e., attentional focusing, low-intensity pleasure, perceptual sensitivity, inhibitory control) and conduct problems, attention deficit disordered behaviors (ADD), and callous-unemotional (CU) traits at 36 and 84 months, respectively. Results indicated that increased general EC at 36 months predicted reduced CU traits and ADD at 84 months. Attentional focusing was the only subfactor to uniquely predict later CU traits, suggesting that strong attentional abilities attenuate risk for CU trait development. The implications for research and practice are discussed.
努力控制（EC）方面的缺陷会导致整个发展过程中的适应不良模式；然而，对于EC的特定子因素如何不同地预测儿童的外化精神病理学，我们知之甚少。本研究以206名儿童（47.8%为女性，42.6%为白种人）的纵向样本为基础，采用双因素结构方程建模方法，分别考察了36个月和84个月时EC及其子因素（即注意力集中、低强度愉悦、感知敏感性、抑制控制）与行为问题、注意力缺陷障碍行为（ADD）和冷酷无情（CU）特质之间的同时期和纵向关联。结果表明，36个月时一般EC的增加预测了84个月时CU特质和ADD的减少。注意力集中是唯一能独特预测后期CU特质的子因素，这表明强大的注意力能力会降低CU特质发展的风险。本文讨论了该研究对研究和实践的启示。
