Citation

Petersen IT, Hoyniak CP, Bates JE, Staples AD, Molfese DL. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 2018; 59(10): 1044-1051.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/jcpp.12975

PMID

30255499

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Externalizing problems, including aggression and conduct problems, are thought to involve impaired attentional capacities. Previous research suggests that the P3 event-related potential (ERP) component is an index of attentional processing, and diminished P3 amplitudes to infrequent stimuli have been shown to be associated with externalizing problems and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the vast majority of this prior work has been cross-sectional and has not examined young children. The present study is the first investigation of whether within-individual changes in P3 amplitude predict changes in externalizing problems, providing a stronger test of developmental process.

METHOD: Participants included a community sample of children (N = 153) followed longitudinally at 30, 36, and 42 months of age. Children completed an oddball task while ERP data were recorded. Parents rated their children's aggression and ADHD symptoms.

RESULTS: Children's within-individual changes in the P3 amplitude predicted concomitant within-child changes in their aggression such that smaller P3 amplitudes (relative to a child's own mean) were associated with more aggression symptoms. However, changes in P3 amplitudes were not significantly associated with ADHD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the P3 may play a role in development of aggression, but do not support the notion that the P3 plays a role in development of early ADHD symptoms.

© 2018 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Language: en

Keywords

P3 ERP; aggression; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; early childhood; externalizing behavior problems