Examining Conduct Problems in a Community Sample during Middle Childhood: The Role of Frontal EEG Asymmetry, Temperament, and Working Memory

Abstract

Previous literature shows that aspects of temperament, executive functioning, and EEG frontal asymmetry are related to externalizing behaviors in children. We examined whether frontal EEG asymmetry measured at age 6 would moderate the impact of negative affectivity, attentional control, and working memory at age 6 on conduct problems at age 9. Behavioral tasks were given to assess children’s attentional control and working memory. Parents completed questionnaires about their children’s negative affectivity and conduct problems. Results showed that greater negative affectivity reported at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9, regardless of EEG frontal asymmetry. Lower levels of attentional control and working memory at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9 when children also exhibited greater left EEG frontal asymmetry, which has been linked to approach motivation. These findings illustrate the importance of assessing multiple intrinsic factors, both independent and interactive, that contribute to children’s conduct problems.

The Effect of Induced Regulatory Focus on Frontal Cortical Activity

“…Many conceptual perspectives have been proposed regarding the relationship between frontal cortical activity and emotional or motivational processes. One such perspective suggests a link between positive affect and increased left frontal cortical activity, and negative affect with increased right frontal cortical activity [13][14][15], known as the affective valence model. However, challenges to this model arise from studies finding that anger, a negative emotion with approach motivation, is associated with relatively greater left frontal cortical activity rather than greater right frontal cortical activity [16,17].…”