Profiles of externalizing behavior problems for boys and girls across preschool: The roles of emotion regulation and inattention.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Susan D. Calkins, Professor (Creator)
Kathryn Amey Degnan (Contributor)
Ashley L. Hill (Contributor)
Susan P. Keane, Professor (Contributor)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Although externalizing behavior typically peaks in toddlerhood and decreases by school entry, some children do not show this normative decline. A sample of 383 boys and girls was assessed at ages 2, 4, and 5 for externalizing behavior and at age 2 on measures of emotion regulation and inattention. A longitudinal latent profile analysis was performed and resulted in 4 longitudinal profiles of externalizing behavior for each gender. Poor emotion regulation and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for girls, whereas socioeconomic status and inattention were important predictors of membership in the chronic-clinical profile for boys. Results are discussed with respect to the development of adaptive skills that lead to normative declines in externalizing behavior across childhood.

Additional Information

Publication
Developmental Psychology, 42, 913-928.
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
Externalizing behavior, Emotion regulation, Inattention, Latent profile analysis, Early childhood

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