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Dimensions of internalising symptoms are stable across early adolescence and predicted by executive functions: Longitudinal findings from the adolescent brain and cognitive development (ABCD) study
Authors:
VEDECHKINA, M., BENNETT, M., HOLMES, J.
Reference:
Development and Psychopathology
Year of publication:
In Press
CBU number:
8896
Abstract:
Early adolescence is characterised by rapid changes in executive function and increased vulnerability to internalising difficulties. The aim of this study was to explore whether internalising symptoms are stable across early adolescence and to identify possible links with executive function. Using data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study (ABCD), we identified four dimensions of internalising symptoms from item-level ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 10 (n=10,841) and 12 (n=5,846), with an invariant factor structure across time. These dimensions corresponded to anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and somatic problems. We then examined associations between these dimensions and three aspects of executive function at age 10 measured by the NIH Toolbox: inhibition, shifting and working memory. Worse shifting and inhibition at age 10 was associated with elevated symptoms of anxiety and withdrawal cross-sectionally, while poor inhibition was also uniquely associated with symptoms of depression. Longitudinal associations were more limited: Worse inhibition at age 10 predicted greater symptoms of withdrawal at age 12, while worse shifting predicted fewer symptoms of anxiety two years later. These findings suggest that poor executive function in early adolescence is associated with greater internalising difficulties and poor inhibition may contribute to later social withdrawal.
