Unique Components of Preschool Children's Externalizing Behaviors that Relate to the Development of Early-Literacy...

Children's externalizing behaviors are associated with low academic outcomes across development. The developmental cascade model suggests that early behavior problems may contribute to later academic difficulties. However, most prior studies concerning the associations between children's externalizing behaviors and academic outcomes have been limited by factors related to study design, methodology, and statistical analysis. Consequently, most studies have not been able to address questions about if and how externalizing behaviors influence academic outcomes. The aims of this study were to address these limitations by examining how different dimensions of children's externalizing behaviors related to growth in early literacy skills during the preschool year. Participants were a racially diverse group (i.e., 51% White, 42% Black, 3% multiracial, 2% Asian, 2% other/specified; 3% Latino/Hispanic) of 1,078 preschool children (mean age = 55.15 months; SD = 3.65; 45% female). Children's early literacy skills (vocabulary, phonological awareness, print knowledge) were assessed three times during the preschool year (fall, winter, spring). Children's inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, and oppositional-defiant behaviors were rated by both teachers and parents during the fall assessment. Most dimensions of externalizing behaviors from both raters were significantly and negatively associated with initial scores on some early literacy skills. Teachers' ratings were more predictive of early literacy-skill growth than were parents' ratings, and inattentive-related behavior was more predictive than hyperactive/impulsive- or oppositional-defiant-related behaviors. These results suggest that children's externalizing behaviors influence the development of early literacy skills, and they have implications for improving identification of, and targeted intervention for, children at risk for future reading difficulties.