Loading...
DOES TRAUMA EXPOSURE MODERATE RELATIONS BETWEEN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS WITH EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS AMONG ADOLESCENTS?
Citations
Altmetric:
Genre
Thesis/Dissertation
Date
2025-05
Advisor
Group
Department
Psychology
Permanent link to this record
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
DOI
https://doi.org/10.34944/zpsx-ts80
Abstract
Externalizing behaviors (e.g., conduct problems) in adolescence are of major public health concern and are associated with psychological disorders in adulthood. As youth reach adolescence, risk-taking and sensation-seeking behaviors increase, conferring potential risk for problem behaviors. Specific cognitive and behavioral factors, such as executive functioning (EF) abilities and participation in prosocial activities, may protect against or confer risk for externalizing behaviors. Additionally, exposure to traumatic events (TEs) in childhood may interact with these factors to differentially predict externalizing behaviors over time. The present study used growth curve modeling (GCM) to examine associations between cognitive (i.e., EF subcomponents such as set shifting, working memory, and inhibitory control) and behavioral factors (i.e., engagement in extracurricular activities, prosocial behavior) and trajectories of externalizing behaviors in early adolescence (Aims 1 and 2). The potential moderating role of exposure to TEs in the relations between these cognitive (Aim 3) and behavioral factors (Aim 4) and externalizing behaviors was also explored. The present sample was drawn from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) multisite, longitudinal study (N=11,875; 48% female, 52% male). Exposure to TEs, two variables measuring engagement in prosocial behaviors (i.e., engagement in extracurricular activities, self-reported prosociality) and three aspects of EF (i.e., set-shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory) were collected at baseline as predictors. Externalizing behaviors were collected at the baseline, one-, two-, three-, and four-year follow-up evaluations. A quadratic slope model was the best fitting model for these data, χ2(6) = 62.528, p < .001; CFI = .998; TLI = .997; RMSEA = .028; SRMR = .011. Results of latent GCM analyses suggest that all predictors influenced baseline externalizing symptoms (intercept), but not change in externalizing behaviors over time (slope). Engagement in extracurricular activities and working memory abilities interacted with exposure to TEs to predict baseline levels of externalizing behaviors, such that higher levels of working memory abilities and engagement in extracurricular activities predicted lower levels of externalizing behaviors in the context of high exposure to TEs. Findings have implications for prevention and intervention efforts to mitigate risk for externalizing problems in early adolescence.
Description
Citation
Citation to related work
Has part
ADA compliance
For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu