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Infant and toddler pathways leading to early externalizing disorders
D S Shaw1, E B Owens, J Giovannelli
1Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 4015 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. casey@imap.pitt.edu
Insights
Early childhood externalizing disorders are linked to infant caregiving environments and child behavior at home. These findings support social learning and attachment theories for conduct problems.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Externalizing disorders in early childhood are a significant concern.
- Understanding developmental pathways is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental pathways leading to specific early externalizing disorders.
- To examine the influence of caregiving and child factors on disorder development.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 310 low-income males from infancy to age 6.
- Data collected from multiple informants regarding child behavior and environment.
Main Results:
- Infant caregiving environment significantly predicts externalizing disorders at school entry.
- Early child behavior at home is also a significant, though limited, predictor.
Conclusions:
- Findings align with social learning and attachment models, emphasizing caregiving deficits.
- Support for Moffitt's hypothesis on comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder patterns and multiple risk factors.
Objective:
To examine pathways leading to specific types of early externalizing disorders.
Method:
Longitudinal data were collected on 310 low-income, male subjects followed from infancy until age 6 years.
Results:
Support across informants was found for the importance of the caregiving environment during infancy in relation to the development of externalizing disorders at school entry. Support was also found for the significance of early child factors, but this was limited to child behavior at home.
Conclusions:
The results are consistent with social learning and attachment models, which suggest that severe conduct problems in early childhood are the result of deficits in the caregiving environment. Support was also found for Moffitt's hypothesis that children with the comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder pattern experience multiple child and psychosocial risk factors that begin during infancy.