Abstract
Lower self-control is a significant correlate or predictor of a wide range of adult outcomes, and this association may be due to more general tendencies toward childhood externalizing problems. The present study examined the association between toddlerhood self-control expressed within a “don’t” compliance task (at 14–36 months) and later externalizing problems (parent-reported externalizing problems from age 4 to 12 years, teacher-reported externalizing problems from age 7 to 12 years, and self-reported conduct disorder symptoms at age 17 years) in a longitudinal, genetically informative study. The slope of self-control, but not its intercept, predicted later teacher-reported, but not parent- or self-reported, externalizing problems. That is, increase in self-control during toddlerhood was associated with lower levels of later teacher-reported externalizing problems. The slope of self-control was no longer a significant predictor of teacher-reported externalizing problems after controlling for observed disregard for others, a robust predictor of externalizing problems. Thus, the hypothesis that self-control is the primary predictor of externalizing problems was not supported. Results from genetic analyses suggested that the covariance between the slope of self-control and teacher-reported externalizing problems is due to both genetic and shared environmental influences.
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Notes
These twin pairs were included in the phenotypic analyses and excluded from the genetic analyses.
We note whether the p value was < .05 vs. < .01 in the results to provide additional information.
Note that in the model depicted in Fig. 1, the covariance between the intercept of self-control and teacher-reported externalizing problems was near zero and dropped from the model.
The magnitude of nonshared environmental influences is very low for the intercept of self-control and teacher-reported externalizing problems. This is likely due to the fact that the phenotypes examined are latent variables, which have lower measurement error.
These p values are those from the z-statistic for the correlation due the genetic and environmental influences calculated using the NEW option of the MODEL CONSTRAINT command in Mplus.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the MacArthur Foundation, the Fetzer Foundation, and National Institutes of Health Grants AG046938, HD007289, MH063207, HD050346, and DA011015. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We thank the Longitudinal Twin Study investigators, Corinne Wright, Sally Ann Rhea, the participants, and research assistants.
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Soo Hyun Rhee, Naomi P. Friedman, Ashley K. Smith Watts, Robin P. Corley, John K. Hewitt, JoAnn Robinson, Carolyn Zahn-Waxler declares that they have no conflict of interest.
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Rhee, S.H., Friedman, N.P., Smith Watts, A.K. et al. The Association Between Toddlerhood Self-Control and Later Externalizing Problems. Behav Genet 48, 125–134 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-017-9886-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-017-9886-7