BACKGROUND Preschool involves an array of new social experiences that may impact the development of early externalizing behavior problems over the transition to grade school. METHODS Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of over 600 pairs of US twins, we tested whether the genetic and environmental influences on externalizing problems differed between children who di...

The use of endophenotypes to classify individuals at risk for or suffering from psychopathology has been criticized for lacking specificity and predictive utility. This issue is apparent in research on externalizing, a heritable predisposition to disinhibitory psychopathology and personality traits. Numerous studies have shown that P3 amplitude reduction (P3AR) reliably reflects externalizing, ...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the amount, type, and patterns of television viewing predict the onset or the persistence of externalizing problems in preschool children. DESIGN Longitudinal study of a prospective population-based cohort in the Netherlands. SETTING Parents reported time of television exposure and type of programs watched by children. Externalizing problems were assessed usin...

Substantial empirical literatures link executive functioning (EF) and temperament, respectively, to externalizing behaviors (e.g., hyperactivity, impulsivity, conduct problems), but they rarely have been considered jointly. As indices of presumed brain function, neither neuropsychological scores nor temperament traits alone are sufficient as a comprehensive developmental model of externalizing ...

Children and adolescents with externalizing behavior disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) often present with symptoms of comorbid internalizing psychopathology. However, few studies have examined central nervous system correlates of such comorbidity. We evaluated interactions between externalizing and internalizing symptoms in predicting ...

This study investigated the interaction of child temperament and maternal discipline in the prediction of externalizing problems in early childhood. Interaction effects were evaluated in a sample of 227 one- to three-year-old children with relatively high externalizing problems scores on the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5. Child temperament was reported by the mothers, maternal discipline was...

Stress, Cortisol, and Externalizing Behavior in Adolescent Males: An Examination in the Context of Multisystemic Therapy By Julia C. Schechter Aggression and delinquency are associated with an array of emotional, behavioral, and health problems (Loeber, Burke, Lahey, Winters, & Zera, 2000). Additionally, a multitude of variables are thought to lead to the development of externalizing disorders ...

Contradictory findings on the relationship between hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis activity and externalizing behavior problems could be due to studies not accounting for issues of comorbidity and gender. In a population-based cohort of 1768 (10- to 12-year-old) early adolescents, we used a person-oriented approach and a variable-oriented approach to investigate whether comorbidity wi...

The present paper focuses on the trait domain of conscientiousness, its development, and its relation to psychopathology. The definition of conscientiousness and its interface with specific forms of psychopathology, such as externalizing psychopathology, are discussed first. Then an overview of the known developmental changes in conscientiousness across the life course is provided, as well as t...

Research using twins has found that much of the variability in externalizing phenotypes-including alcohol and drug use, impulsive personality traits, risky sex, and property crime-is explained by genetic factors. Nevertheless, identification of specific genes and variants associated with these traits has proven to be difficult, likely because individual differences in externalizing are explaine...