Executive function in children with externalizing and comorbid internalizing behavior problems

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study is to investigate differences in executive function (EF) in children with different levels of disruptive behavior problems (DBP). METHODS: Ninety-three children between 7 and 12 years old with DBP were compared to 63 normally developing peers on a battery of EF tasks that varied in the amount of required emotion regulation ('hot' EF). RESULTS: Differences in EF were found between DBP and comparison groups as indexed by hot EF tasks. Self-reported emotion scales, in conjunction with physiological recordings of heart rate, confirmed that emotions were elicited during hot EF. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that difficulties in hot EF underlie externalizing problem behaviors in middle childhood.