Relations Between Child Temperament and Adolescent Negative Urgency in a High-Risk Sample

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Negative urgency, characterized by impulsive actions during negative moods, is linked to risky behaviors.
• Understanding the developmental origins of negative urgency is crucial for early intervention strategies.
• Childhood temperament is a potential precursor to adolescent negative urgency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate childhood temperament as a developmental antecedent to adolescent negative urgency.
• To examine the unique contributions of anger reactivity, sadness reactivity, and effortful control to negative urgency.
• To explore the combined influence of childhood anger and effortful control on later negative urgency.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design with 239 participants, oversampled for familial history of alcohol use disorder (AUD).
• Childhood temperament (anger/sadness reactivity, effortful control) assessed between ages 5-8.
• Adolescent negative urgency assessed between ages 13-18.

Main Results:

• Childhood anger reactivity significantly predicted adolescent negative urgency, independent of sadness reactivity.
• Childhood effortful control did not directly predict adolescent negative urgency.
• A latent variable combining childhood effortful control and anger reactivity was associated with adolescent negative urgency.

Conclusions:

• Childhood anger reactivity is a significant developmental precursor to adolescent negative urgency.
• The interplay between emotional reactivity and self-control in childhood may influence the development of negative urgency.
• Findings highlight the importance of early temperament in understanding risk for impulsive and risky behaviors.