Cognitive control processes regulate lower level processes and thereby enable self-directed behavior towards a goal, allowing us to break out of habits, make decisions and evaluate risks, plan for the future, prioritize and sequence our actions, and cope with novel situations. In other words, cognitive control is essential for successfully navigating nearly all of our daily activities. The proposed research seeks to make an innovative contribution to knowledge of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domain of cognitive control by: 1) examining the extent to which two distinct ways of assessing cognitive control, executive function task performance and the temperament dimension of effortful control may be interchangeable markers of the same latent construct, or separable, but related latent constructs;and 2) investigate the extent to which cognitive control, as conceptualized and assessed by multiple measures of executive function and effortful control, is broadly related to adolescent psychopathology (transdiagnostic) or relatively specific to common forms of psychopathological symptoms (depression, anxiety, ADHD). Executive function impairments are now widely acknowledged as an important aspect of psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD, and may be important contributors to impairments in social, occupational and educational functioning. Recently, it has been proposed that such executive function deficits may be a transdiagnostic risk factor for both emotional and behavioral disorders. Likewise, the temperament dimension of effortful control has also been linked to psychopathology. However, the relation between executive function and effortful control, and which aspects of these constructs drive their associations with psychopathology, remain unclear. In addition, there has been very little research on links among executive function, effortful control, and psychopathology during adolescence. Lack of research in adolescents is an important gap in the literature because adolescence is a critical period for the development of executive function, increased importance of self-regulation, and the determination of psychopathology trajectories. The proposed study thus uses a methodologically superior latent variable approach to investigate how executive function and effortful control are related in adolescents, and how they are in turn related to the most common forms of adolescent psychopathology (depression, anxiety and ADHD). The proposed research uses a multi-method, multi-informant approach, using a battery of well-validated measures to assess executive function task performance and adolescent self and parent reported effortful control and psychopathology symptoms. Analyses will use confirmatory factors analysis and structural equation modeling to test relations between these constructs at the latent variable level. This proposal will make a significant contribution t interdisciplinary research by clarifying the core processes of this important RDoC construct and linking what is known about EF and EC, answering calls in the field for an integrative model that can better inform future translational research.

Public Health Relevance

Cognitive control processes allow us to break out of habits, make decisions and evaluate risks, plan for the future, prioritize and sequence our actions, and cope with novel situations: in other words, cognitive control is essential for successfully navigating nearly all of our daily activities. Adolescents, who experience mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety and ADHD, often have difficulties with cognitive control. This study seeks to better understand how different aspects of cognitive control are related to one another during adolescence, and how each is related to mental health.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21MH102210-01A1
Application #
8769466
Study Section
Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section (CPDD)
Program Officer
Friedman-Hill, Stacia
Project Start
2014-07-01
Project End
2016-06-30
Budget Start
2014-07-01
Budget End
2015-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Denver
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Denver
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80208
Bosmans, Guy; Young, Jami F; Hankin, Benjamin L (2018) NR3C1 methylation as a moderator of the effects of maternal support and stress on insecure attachment development. Dev Psychol 54:29-38
Long, Erin E; Young, Jami F; Hankin, Benjamin L (2018) Temporal dynamics and longitudinal co-occurrence of depression and different anxiety syndromes in youth: Evidence for reciprocal patterns in a 3-year prospective study. J Affect Disord 234:20-27
Hankin, Benjamin L; Young, Jami F; Gallop, Robert et al. (2018) Cognitive and Interpersonal Vulnerabilities to Adolescent Depression: Classification of Risk Profiles for a Personalized Prevention Approach. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46:1521-1533
Snyder, Hannah R; Young, Jami F; Hankin, Benjamin L (2017) Chronic Stress Exposure and Generation Are Related to the P-Factor and Externalizing Specific Psychopathology in Youth. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol :1-10
Hankin, Benjamin L; Davis, Elysia Poggi; Snyder, Hannah et al. (2017) Temperament factors and dimensional, latent bifactor models of child psychopathology: Transdiagnostic and specific associations in two youth samples. Psychiatry Res 252:139-146
Snyder, Hannah R; Hankin, Benjamin L; Sandman, Curt A et al. (2017) Distinct patterns of reduced prefrontal and limbic grey matter volume in childhood general and internalizing psychopathology. Clin Psychol Sci 5:1001-1013
Haraden, Dustin A; Mullin, Benjamin C; Hankin, Benjamin L (2017) The relationship between depression and chronotype: A longitudinal assessment during childhood and adolescence. Depress Anxiety 34:967-976
Snyder, Hannah R; Hankin, Benjamin L (2016) Spiraling out of control: Stress generation and subsequent rumination mediate the link between poorer cognitive control and internalizing psychopathology. Clin Psychol Sci 4:1047-1064
Hankin, Benjamin L; Snyder, Hannah R; Gulley, Lauren D et al. (2016) Understanding comorbidity among internalizing problems: Integrating latent structural models of psychopathology and risk mechanisms. Dev Psychopathol 28:987-1012
Snyder, Hannah R; Miyake, Akira; Hankin, Benjamin L (2015) Advancing understanding of executive function impairments and psychopathology: bridging the gap between clinical and cognitive approaches. Front Psychol 6:328

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