The relations of problem behavior status to children's negative emotionality, effortful control, and impulsivity: concurrent relations and prediction of change.
The relations of children's internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors to their concurrent regulation, impulsivity (reactive undercontrol), anger, sadness, and fearfulness and these aspects of functioning 2 years prior were examined. Parents and teachers completed measures of children's (N = 185; ages 6 through 9 years) adjustment, negative emotionality, regulation, and behavior control; behavioral measures of regulation also were obtained. In general, both internalizing and externalizing problems were associated with negative emotionality. Externalizers were low in effortful regulation and high in impulsivity, whereas internalizers, compared with nondisordered children, were low in impulsivity but not effortful control. Moreover, indices of negative emotionality, regulation, and impulsivity with the level of the same variables 2 years before controlled predicted stability versus change in problem behavior status.
Eisenberg
Nancy
N
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA. nancy.eisenberg@asu.edu
Sadovsky
Adrienne
A
Spinrad
Tracy L
TL
Fabes
Richard A
RA
Losoya
Sandra H
SH
Valiente
Carlos
C
Reiser
Mark
M
Cumberland
Amanda
A
Shepard
Stephanie A
SA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D012307:Risk Factors