Individual differences in executive attention predict self-regulation and adolescent psychosocial behaviors

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Jun:1021:337-40. doi: 10.1196/annals.1308.041.

Abstract

This study examined temperament, executive attention, parental monitoring and relationships, and involvement in pro- and antisocial behaviors in an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. We sought to relate parent- and self-reported effortful control to performance on measures of executive attention and to better understand the relative contributions of individual-difference variables and environmental variables in predicting behaviors in adolescence. The results indicated a relationship between poor executive attention and mother-reported effortful control. Inclusion of individual-difference variables significantly increased prediction of problem-behavior scores, suggesting the importance of including such variables in studies of adolescent deviance.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Individuality*
  • Internal-External Control
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Problem Solving / physiology*
  • Psychology, Adolescent*
  • Reaction Time
  • Risk
  • Social Control, Informal*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Temperament