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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Different neurocognitive functions regulating physical aggression and hyperactivity in early childhood
Jean R Séguin1, Sophie Parent, Richard E Tremblay
1Department of psychiatry, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jean.Seguin@UMontreal.CA
Early childhood behavior problems like aggression and hyperactivity link to specific neurocognitive deficits. Physical aggression is associated with receptive language issues, while hyperactivity relates to visuospatial organization problems.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Childhood behavioral disorders
- Neurodevelopment
Background:
- Behavioral problems in childhood and adolescence share similarities.
- The neurocognitive underpinnings of these behaviors in early childhood are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between behavioral symptoms and neurocognitive processes in very young children.
- To determine if patterns observed in adolescents are present in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- A population-based birth cohort of 1,950 children was studied.
- Developmental trajectories of physical aggression and hyperactivity were assessed from 17 to 41 months.
- Neurocognitive abilities (receptive vocabulary, visuospatial organization, short-term memory) were measured at 41 months.
Main Results:
- Physical aggression was specifically linked to receptive vocabulary deficits (p < .0001).
- Hyperactivity was specifically linked to visuospatial organization deficits (p < .0001).
- These associations remained robust after controlling for socioeconomic and perinatal factors.
Conclusions:
- Neurocognitive correlates of physical aggression and hyperactivity are evident in early childhood.
- Physical aggression problems are associated with language deficits.
- Hyperactivity problems are associated with non-verbal deficits.
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