Socioeconomic status, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and executive function in adolescence: A longitudinal study with multiple informants

Abstract

This study examines whether behavior problems reported by the self and others are associated prospectively with executive function in adolescence and whether these behaviors mediate the association between family and neighborhood socioeconomic status and executive function. Participants (N = 4,164) from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) reported their behaviors at ages 10–11; mothers, fathers, and teachers also rated participants’ behaviors. Four years later, participants completed an executive function battery that measured attention, working memory, and error monitoring. As rated by the self, mother, father, and teacher, hyperactivity and emotional symptoms had the most consistent associations with worse performance on the executive function tasks. The associations were generally similar across the four reporters. Hyperactivity mediated the association between family SES in childhood and adolescent executive function. None of the behaviors mediated the association between neighborhood SES and executive function. The present research suggests that behavior problems prospectively predict executive function in adolescence and may be one mechanism of the relation between family SES and executive function.