Effortful control as modifier of the association between negative emotionality and adolescents' mental health problems

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which effortful control moderated the risk of internalizing or externalizing problems associated with high negative emotionality in a Dutch population sample of pre- and early adolescents (N = 1,922). Internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist, Youth Self-Report, and Teacher Checklist of Psychopathology. Temperament (effortful control, fearfulness, frustration) was assessed with the parent version of the Revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire. The effects of fearfulness and frustration appeared to be attenuated by high levels of effortful control. The associations differed between the two domains of mental health investigated: effortful control reduced the effect of fearfulness on internalizing problems and the effect of frustration on externalizing problems. The effects were stronger for externalizing problems and similar for preadolescent (age 11) and adolescent (age 13/14) outcomes.

An Integrative Common Liabilities Model for the Comorbidity of Substance Use Disorders with Externalizing and Internalizing Disorders

“…Various models of child temperament propose both reactive traits (e.g., automatic behaviors and unregulated fear) and effortful or active traits (e.g., self-regulation abilities and purposeful attentional focus) as components of developmental paths 11 leading to psychopathology (Derryberry & Rothbart, 1988;1997;Kochanska, Barry, Jimenez, Hollatz, & Woodard, 2009;Lonigan et al, 2004;Muris & Ollendick, 2005;Rothbart, 1989;Rothbart, Ahadi, & Hershey, 1994;Rothbart, Posner, & Hershey, 1995). A study involving a Dutch population-based sample of adolescents found that predispositions toward low effortful control (i.e., tendencies to voluntarily inhibit a dominant response in order to perform a subdominant but more adaptive response) magnified the effect of fearfulness on internalizing problems and the effect of frustration on externalizing problems in adolescents (Oldehinkel, Hartman, Ferdinand, Verhulst, & Ormel, 2007), and effortful control and negative affect were associated with familial loadings for both internalizing and externalizing psychopathology (Ormel et al, 2005). In the next two sections, we describe the regulation liabilities in greater detail from a developmental perspective.…”

Adolescent Family Adversity and Mental Health Problems: The Role of Adaptive Self-regulation Capacities. The TRAILS Study

“…Rothbarts' model distinquishes three components of effortful control: activation control (the capacity to perform an action when there is a tendency to avoid it), attention control (the capacity to focus attention as well as to shift attention when desired) and inbibitory control (the capacity to plan and to suppres inappropriate responses). But these components failed to emerge as separate factors in the TRAILS sample (Oldehinkel et al 2007). The effortful control items could be rated on a five-point scale ranging from 1 = hardly ever true to 5 = almost always true (T1: 11 items, α=0.86).…”

“…Gardner et al 2008;Lengua et al 2008;Oldehinkel et al 2007). Effortful control is the ability to (voluntarily) regulate attention and behavior (e.g.…”

“…Effortful control is the ability to (voluntarily) regulate attention and behavior (e.g. Oldehinkel et al 2007), which enables adolescents to respond to adversity with a range of behaviors and emotions that are socially acceptable and sufficiently flexible (e.g. Derryberry and Rothbart 1997;Eisenberg et al 2009;Eisenberg et al 2002).…”

Associations between Parent-Adolescent Attachment Relationship Quality, Negative Life Events and Mental Health

“…The EATQ-R is a 62-item questionnaire containing eight domains: Effortful control, Affiliation, Fearfulness, Frustration, Surgency, Shyness, Aggression and Depressed Mood. Temperament is considered a multi-dimensional concept in which low scores on effortful control and affiliation as well as high scores on frustration and fear are associated with emotional and behavioural problems, whereas high scores on effortful control and affiliation have been shown to protect against these problems [16][17][18].…”