Executive function as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood and increased risk for psychopathology is well established, but the mechanisms explaining this relationship are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the potential role of difficulties in executive functioning (EF) as a mechanism linking childhood and adolescent SES with externalizing and internalizing psychopathology.

Methods

We examined whether difficulties with EF mediated the association between SES and externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in two cross-sectional samples of children and adolescents (Study 1: N = 94, ages 6-18, 51.1% male; Study 2: N = 259, ages 8-16, 54.1% male) from diverse SES backgrounds in the United States. EF was measured through behavioral tasks and parent

SUBMITTER: McNeilly EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8203104 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature