title: The relationship of impulsivity-inattention and verbal ability to overt and covert antisocial behaviors in children.
abstract: Research has linked many risk factors in childhood and early adolescence to antisocial behaviors in later adolescence and early adulthood; however, less attention has focused on the interaction among factors in the prediction of distinct forms of antisocial behaviors. This study investigated the additive and synergistic association of inattention-impulsivity and verbal ability with overt and covert antisocial behaviors using a high risk community sample of 270 (49.8% female) children. Multiple regression analyses indicated kindergarten inattention-impulsivity was significantly related to overt and covert antisocial behaviors and the interaction of inattention-impulsivity and verbal ability significantly predicted covert but not overt antisocial behaviors during kindergarten and first grade. Kindergarten verbal ability did not buffer the association of impulsivity-inattention with covert antisocial behavior; rather higher verbal ability was associated with increased risk for covert antisocial behavior in the presence of high levels of impulsivity-inattention. The association of inattention-impulsivity with higher levels of overt and covert antisocial behavior begins during childhood, and may set off developmental trajectories associated with the acceleration of antisocial behavior in adolescence.
authors: The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA. amceachern@mrn.org
authors: Amber D
authors: AD
authors: McEachern
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Snyder
mesh_terms: D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior