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Impulsivity Symptoms as Core to the Developmental Externalizing Spectrum

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Abstract

Impulsivity is posited to be a key part of the externalizing spectrum during childhood, but this idea has received minimal empirical attention. The goal of the present investigation was to utilize network analysis to determine whether behavioral impulsivity symptoms are key components of the externalizing network across several developmental periods from preschool into adolescence. Participants were 109 preschoolers (64 % male) ages 3 to 6, 237 children (59 % male) ages 6 to 9, 372 children (59 % male) ages 10 to 13, and 357 adolescents (59 % male) ages 13 to 17 and their parents. Parents completed ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) symptoms on a well-validated rating scale. Network analyses indicated that ADHD and ODD were somewhat differentiated in preschool, becoming united by behavioral impulsivity symptoms during early childhood, and then differentiating into inattention versus externalizing clusters later during childhood and in adolescence. Behavioral impulsivity symptoms were core to the externalizing spectrum across most developmental periods, but core inattentive and ODD symptoms were also identified in line with progressive differentiation. These results suggest the increasing importance of impulsivity symptoms across development, explaining externalizing comorbidity and potentially serving as a viable target for childhood interventions for externalizing problems.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the study participants and staff who made this study possible. This research was supported by NIH National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01-MH63146 and MH3759105 to Joel Nigg and 5R03 HD062599-02 and K12 DA 035150 to Michelle Martel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, University of Kentucky, 207C Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Michelle M. Martel, Christine A. Lee & Tess E. Smith

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Cheri A. Levinson

Authors
  1. Michelle M. Martel
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  2. Cheri A. Levinson
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  3. Christine A. Lee
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  4. Tess E. Smith
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Correspondence to Michelle M. Martel.

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This research was supported by NIH National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01-MH63146 and MH3759105 to Joel Nigg and 5R03 HD062599–02 and K12 DA 035150 to Michelle Martel.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Martel, M.M., Levinson, C.A., Lee, C.A. et al. Impulsivity Symptoms as Core to the Developmental Externalizing Spectrum. J Abnorm Child Psychol 45, 83–90 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0148-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0148-6

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