title: Individual differences in executive attention predict self-regulation and adolescent psychosocial behaviors.
abstract: This study examined temperament, executive attention, parental monitoring and relationships, and involvement in pro- and antisocial behaviors in an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. We sought to relate parent- and self-reported effortful control to performance on measures of executive attention and to better understand the relative contributions of individual-difference variables and environmental variables in predicting behaviors in adolescence. The results indicated a relationship between poor executive attention and mother-reported effortful control. Inclusion of individual-difference variables significantly increased prediction of problem-behavior scores, suggesting the importance of including such variables in studies of adolescent deviance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Westminster College, 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105, USA. lellis@westminstercollege.edu
authors.forename: Lesa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Mary K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Rothbart
authors.forename: Michael I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Posner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011930:Reaction Time; D012306:Risk; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament