Profiles of externalizing behavior problems for boys and girls across preschool: the roles of emotion regulation and inattention

Dev Psychol. 2006 Sep;42(5):913-28. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.913.

Abstract

Although externalizing behavior typically peaks in toddlerhood and decreases by school entry, some children do not show this normative decline. A sample of 383 boys and girls was assessed at ages 2, 4, and 5 for externalizing behavior and at age 2 on measures of emotion regulation and inattention. A longitudinal latent profile analysis was performed and resulted in 4 longitudinal profiles of externalizing behavior for each gender. Poor emotion regulation and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for girls, whereas socioeconomic status and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for boys. Results are discussed with respect to the development of adaptive skills that lead to normative declines in externalizing behavior across childhood.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Acting Out
  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Aggression / psychology
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / diagnosis
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology
  • Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / diagnosis
  • Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Attention*
  • Child Behavior Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Child Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chronic Disease
  • Cohort Studies
  • Emotions*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internal-External Control*
  • Juvenile Delinquency / psychology
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Personality Assessment / statistics & numerical data
  • Psychometrics
  • Reference Values
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Statistics as Topic