Publication year
2017
Citation Title
Cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behavior problems in childhood and adolescence: Specific cascade effects across development.
Journal Name
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Journal Volume
46
Issue Number
8
Page Numbers
1688-1701
DOI
10.1007/s10964-016-0602-3
Summary
Understanding trajectories of problematic behaviors throughout childhood and adolescence can help to develop strategies for preventing negative outcomes in youth. This study investigated children's and adolescents' cognitive abilities (e.g., academic achievement), social adaptation (e.g., coping abilities), and externalizing behavior (e.g., conduct problems) throughout different developmental stages. The findings suggest that difficulties in cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behavior in childhood can predict outcomes in adolescence.
Key Findings
Participants' scores in cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behavior were stable across the ages of 4, 10, and 14 years old.
Higher cognitive abilities at 10 years old were related to greater social adaptation at 14 years old.
The social adaptation of children at 4 years old predicted fewer externalizing behavior at 10 years old, which subsequently predicted improved social adaptation at 14 years old.
Externalizing behavior at 4 years old did not predict social adaptation at 10 years old. Likewise, social adaptation at 10 years old did not predict externalizing behavior at 14 years old.
Implications for Military Professionals
Offer workshops and support groups to parents that focus on parental strategies for minimizing externalizing behavior in children and youth
Create team building activities to strengthen systems of support for youth struggling with cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behavior
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop curricula to teach youth program staff and educators about best practices to promote positive outcomes (e.g., improved cognitive abilities) for children and youth
Disseminate information regarding the risks of prolonged externalizing behavior in childhood that persist into adolescence and adulthood
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage research of early identification of difficulties in cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behavior in children and youth
Support programs that provide resources and strategies for youth struggling with problem behavior
Methods
Data were collected from a longitudinal study of child development and family functioning of mothers and their children in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
Cognitive abilities were measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) when children were 4 years old, and the Woodcock-Johnson Revised Tests of Achievement (WJ-R) when children were 10 and 14 years old. Social adaptation was measured with the Socialization domain of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: Interview Edition (VABS) across all three age groups.
Externalizing behaviors were measured with the parent-reported, hostile-aggressive sub-scale of the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ) when children were 4 years old, and the Externalizing broad-band scale of the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 (CBCL) when children were 10 and 14 years old.
Statistical analyses examined the relationships among cognitive ability, social adaptation, and externalizing behavior of participants across the three different time points (ages 4, 10, and 14 years).
Participants
This study included 351 children that participated one or more times (with their mothers) at ages 4 (M=4.04, SD=.09), 10 (M=10.34, SD=.16), and 14 (M=13.87, SD=.28) years old.
The percentage of males within this study was 53.8%. The number of second-born children in this study was 55, and the remaining children were first-borns.
All participants were White. Families that participated were, on average, middle to upper socioeconomic status.
Limitations
The study included only White participants, which restricts generalizability of findings to other racial and ethnic groups.
Parents' behavioral assessments may be influenced by attempts to minimize problematic behaviors and not accurately reflect their child’s behavior.
The assessments used to measure cognitive abilities and externalizing behaviors changed for the second and third data collections which may have affected the stability of findings.
Avenues for Future Research
Investigate effects of intervention programs for youth with difficulties in externalizing behaviors
Explore gender differences in the long-term effects of youth struggling with social adaptation
Research prevention strategies that can be integrated in youth programs for youth with difficulties in cognitive abilities
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Children’s and adolescents’ cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behaviors are broadly associated with each other at the bivariate level; however, the direction, ordering, and uniqueness of these associations have yet to be identified. Developmental cascade models are particularly well-suited to (1) discern unique pathways among psychological domains and (2) model stability in and covariation among constructs, allowing for conservative tests of longitudinal associations. The current study aimed to identify specific cascade effects among children’s cognitive abilities, social adaptation, and externalizing behaviors, beginning in preschool and extending through adolescence. Children (46.2 % female) and mothers (N = 351 families) provided data when children were 4, 10, and 14 years old. Cascade effects highlighted significant stability in these domains. Unique longitudinal associations were identified between (1) age-10 cognitive abilities and age-14 social adaptation, (2) age-4 social adaptation and age-10 externalizing behavior, and (3) age-10 externalizing behavior and age-14 social adaptation. These findings suggest that children’s social adaptation in preschool and externalizing behavior in middle childhood may be ideal intervention targets to enhance adolescent well-being.
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