Abstract
There is considerable covariation between externalizing and internalizing problems across the lifespan. Partitioning general and specific psychopathology is crucial to identify (a) processes that confer specific risk for externalizing versus internalizing problems and (b) transdiagnostic processes that confer risk for the covariation between externalizing and internalizing problems. The oddball P3 event-related potential (ERP) component, thought to reflect attentional orienting, has been widely examined in relation to psychopathology. However, prior studies have not examined the P3—or other aspects of neural functioning—in relation to general versus specific psychopathology in children. The present study examined whether children’s (N = 124, ages 3–7 years) P3 amplitudes were associated with general versus specific psychopathology. Children’s electroencephalography data were recorded during an oddball task. Parents rated their children’s externalizing and internalizing problems. Using bifactor models to partition variance in parents’ ratings of children’s psychopathology symptoms, we examined children’s P3 amplitudes in relation to three latent factors: (1) the general factor of psychopathology—the covariation of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology, (2) unique externalizing problems—the variance in externalizing problems after controlling for the general factor, and (3) unique internalizing problems. Results indicated that smaller P3 amplitudes were associated with unique externalizing problems at ages 3–5, and with general psychopathology at ages 6–7. Findings suggest that smaller P3 amplitudes may be associated with externalizing problems from a very young age. Moreover, there may be a developmental shift in the functional significance of the P3 in relation to general and specific psychopathology in childhood.
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Data Availability
Data files, a data dictionary, analysis scripts, and a computational notebook for the present study are published online: https://osf.io/zs2bn. The present study is part of a larger study, the School Readiness Study. Hypotheses and measures for the School Readiness Study were pre-registered: https://osf.io/jzxb8. Hypotheses methods, and a data analysis plan for the present study were also pre-registered: https://osf.io/pny26.
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The project was funded by Grants HD098235 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), T32GM108540 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), and UL1TR002537 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
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Hosch, A., Harris, J.L., Swanson, B. et al. The P3 ERP in Relation to General Versus Specific Psychopathology in Early Childhood. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 51, 1439–1451 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01061-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-023-01061-0