Developmental origins of early antisocial behavior

15 Pages·2009·0.16 MB·English

DevelopmentandPsychopathology21(2009),1095–1109
doi:10.1017/S095457940999006X
Developmental origins of early antisocial
behavior
SUSAND.CALKINSANDSUSANP.KEANE
UniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
Abstract
Earlyantisocialbehaviorhasitsoriginsinchildhoodbehaviorproblems,particularlythosecharacterizedbyaggressive
anddestructivebehavior.Deficitsinself-regulationacrossmultipledomainsoffunctioning,fromthephysiologicalto
thecognitive,areassociatedwithearlybehaviorproblems,andmayplacechildrenatgreaterriskforthedevelopmentof
laterantisocialbehavior.Dataarepresentedfromalongitudinalstudyofearlyself-regulationandbehaviorproblems,
theRIGHTTrackResearchProject,demonstratingthatchildrenatgreatestriskforearlyandpersistentproblem
behaviordisplaypatternsofphysiologicalandemotionalregulationdeficitsearlyinlife.Parentingbehaviorand
functioninghavealsobeenexaminedaspredictorsoftrajectoriesofearlyproblembehavior,andsomedatasupport
theinteractionofparentingandself-regulationassignificantpredictorsofpatternsofproblematicbehaviorand
ongoingproblemswiththeregulationofaffect.Peerrelationshipsalsoaffectandareaffectedbyearlyself-regulation
skills,andbothmayplayaroleinacademicperformanceandsubsequentschoolsuccess.Thesedataprovideevidencethat
thesocialcontextsofearlyfamilyandpeerrelationshipsareimportantmoderatorsofthemoreproximalmechanismof
self-regulation,andbothtypesofprocesses,socialandbiobehavioral,arelikelyimplicatedinearlyantisocialtendencies.
Implicationsofthesefindingsonself-regulationandearlybehaviorproblemsarediscussedintermsoffutureresearchand
treatmentapproaches.
Antisocial behavior is generally defined as be- ious behaviors such as lying, duplicity, and
havior that violates the basic rights of others. manipulatingothersforpersonalgain.Thesean-
Inadults,antisocialbehaviorisoftenassociated tisocialbehaviorscomprisethecriterianecessary
withcriminalbehaviorssuchasstealingorphys- tomeetthediagnosisofantisocialpersonalitydis-
icalassault,butitalsoincludesothermoreinsid- order(ASPD).Inaddition,ahallmarkfeatureof
thisdisorderismarkedindifferencetothevictim
(AmericanPsychiatricAssociation,2000).Inado-
Thewritingofthismanuscriptwaspartiallysupportedby lescents, antisocial behavior typically manifests
a National Institute of Health Research Scientist Career itselfasdelinquency.Chronicantisocialbehavior
Development Award (K02) to Susan D. Calkins (MH
in adolescence and ASPD in adulthood are
74077).TheresearchreportedwassupportedbyaNational
serioussocietalproblemswithfinancial(e.g.,ar-
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Behavioral Science
Track Award for Rapid Transition (MH 55625) and an rest,adjudication,andincarceration)andpersonal
NIMH FIRST award (MH 55584) to Susan D. Calkins (medical expenses, lost wages, loss of property,
and by an NIMH Grant (MH 58144) awarded to Susan lossoflife)costs(Foster&Jones,2006),making
D.Calkins,SusanP.Keane,andMarionO’Brien.Wethank
an understanding of these conditions, and their
theparentsandchildrenwhohaverepeatedlygiventheir
development,animportantresearchquestion.
timeandefforttoparticipateinthisresearchandaregrateful
totheentireRIGHTTrackstafffortheirhelpcollecting, Recent research has begun to illuminate our
entering,andcodingdata. understanding of the development of antisocial
Addresscorrespondenceandreprintrequeststo:Susan behavior.WeknowthatASPDinadultsandanti-
D.Calkins,DepartmentofHumanDevelopmentandFam-
social behavior in adolescents share a common
ilyStudies,P.O.Box26170,UniversityofNorthCarolina
antecedentofearlyaggressiveanddisruptivebe-
at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170; E-mail:
[email protected]. haviorinchildhood(Dishion&Patterson,2006).
1095
1096 S.D.CalkinsandS.P.Keane
Infact,ahistoryofconductdisorderbeforethe A developmental psychopathology perspec-
ageof15isarequisitecriterionforthediagno- tivehighlightstheneedtoconsiderthatantisocial
sis of ASPD. For some individuals, conduct behavior represents one outcome of a develop-
disorderbespeaksthebeginningofapersistent mentalprogressionfrom earlierchildbehavioral
pattern of antisocial behavior. However, for characteristicsand/ordifficultiesthat,inthecon-
others, these behaviors desist or continue at text of other moderational processes or risk fac-
subclinical levels, as only about 25% of chil- tors,increase the likelihoodofserious problems
drenwith conduct disorderarelater diagnosed inlaterchildhoodandadolescence.These“early
withASPD(AmericanPsychiatricAssociation, starter” models have attempted to identify child
2000). The heterogeneity of these problems and environmental factors that place a child on
with respect to symptomatology, age of onset, anearlyandstabletrajectoryofproblembehavior
and risk factors suggests that there may be that,insomecases,leadtoseriousantisocialbe-
morethanonepathwaytolatersignificantanti- havior.Forexample,muchoftheworkonantece-
socialproblems(Dodge&Pettit,2003;Moffitt, dentsofantisocialbehaviorhasfocusedondiffi-
2003; Willoughby, Kupersmidt, & Bryant, cult temperament, autonomic underarousal, and
2001).Onecompellingexplanationofthesedi- neuropsychologicaldeficitsasfactorsthatpredis-
vergent outcomes isthe environment towhich posechildrentodevelopchronicproblembehav-
theaggressive,disruptivechildisexposed.Lahey ior(Dodge&Pettit,2003).Thechallengetothis
andcolleagues(Lahey,Waldman,&McBurnett, work has been the observation that difficult
1999),infact,proposethatthedifferentmanifesta- temperament andunderarousalare notoftenco-
tionsofantisocialbehaviorresultfromsuccessive occurring (Calkins, 2009), perhaps because of
transactional processes that a child experiences thefactthatdifficulttemperamentmaynotbedif-
withinhis/hersocialenvironment. ferentiatedearlyindevelopmentandmayleadto
Although there have been a number of dif- verydifferentoutcomesdependingonitsprimary
ferent conceptual and empirical approaches to manifestation(Calkins&Fox,2002).
thestudyofearlyconductproblemsandantiso- Asecondapproachtothestudyofearlyantece-
cial behavior, such work is often conducted dentsofantisocialbehaviorhasbeentoconducta
fromwithinadevelopmentalpsychopathology downwardextensionofpsychopathyandexamine
framework (e.g., Campbell, Shaw, & Gilliom, traits or behaviors that forecast future callous–
2000). Such a perspective suggeststhat there are unemotional behavior (Frick & White, 2008),
multiplecontributorstomaladaptiveandadaptive consideredahallmarkofsomeantisocialbehav-
outcomes, that these contributors may interact in iors. This work has examined whether children
various ways within different individuals, and whodonotdisplayempathyorguiltandwhoen-
thattheconsequencesfordevelopmentaremultiple gage in proactive versus reactive aggression are
pathways to disordered behavior and/or multiple morelikelytodisplayantisocialbehaviorlaterin
variantsofoutcomefromindividualcausativefac- adolescence.Thefindingsfromthisworksuggest
tors(Cicchetti,1984,1993;Cicchetti&Rogosch, thatsomechildrendo,infact,displaysuchapro-
1996;Sroufe&Rutter,1984).Cicchettiandothers file,andcontinuealongapathwaytomoreserious
(Cicchetti&Rogosch,1996;Richters,1997)have antisocialbehavior(Fricketal.,2003).Thesechil-
described these perspectives as multifinality and drenalsotendtodisplaygreaterfearlessnessand
equifinality.Thisperspectivealsoemphasizesthe may, in fact, have deficits in the processing of
importance of conducting longitudinal investiga- emotionalstimulithatmakethemlessresponsive
tionsofthemultipleforcesthatmaybothinfluence tobothcuesofdangerandtheemotionaldistress
andbeinfluencedbyearlycontextual,familial,or ofothers(Frick&White,2008).
individual difference factors. Finally, a develop- Thedatafromstudies examiningearlyprob-
mentalpsychopathologyperspectiveadvocatesan lem behaviors like aggression and negativityas
organizationalviewofdevelopment;thus,multiple precursorsto antisocial behaviorsand those ex-
factors,orlevelsofagivenfactor,areconsideredin amining callous–unemotional traits have been
thecontextofoneanother,ratherthaninisolation difficulttoreconcile.However,onepossibleex-
(Cicchetti&Dawson,2002;Cicchetti&Rogosch, planation is that there may be more than one
1996;Cicchetti&Schneider-Rosen,1986). subgroup of “early starters” who are character-
Developmentaloriginsofearlyantisocialbehavior 1097
izedbydifferentemotionalandbehavioraltraits haviors(externalizingproblems),andthosechar-
andresponddifferentlytoenvironmentalmoder- acterizedbyanxiety,withdrawal,anddepression
ators. Frick has proposed that at least two sub- (internalizing problems; Achenbach, 1991a,
groups,characterizedbyoverarousalversusundera- 1991b, 1992; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983).
rousal,maybeidentified,andthattheseprofiles Externalizingspectrumproblemshavelikelyre-
interactwithdifferentialdimensionsofparent- ceivedmorefocusbecausetheyarepresumedto
ing to make children more or less vulnerable bemoreeasilyobservedandcausegreaterdisrup-
toconductproblemsandlaterantisocialbehavior tions in the family, peer, and school contexts.
(Frick, 2006; Frick & White, 2008). Moreover, Moreover,suchproblemsareofinteresttoclini-
the group of children at risk because of overa- ciansandresearchersalikebecauseoftheirinflu-
rousalmayalsodisplaydeficitsintheregulation ence on concurrent psychological and social
ofthatarousal,whichplacesthematgreaterrisk functioning(Campbell,2002),theirroleininflu-
forreactive,ratherthanproactiveaggression. encinglaterbehavioracrosspeerandschoolcon-
Thenotionthattheregulationofarousalmay texts(Keane&Calkins,2004),andtheirpotential
beamarkerforasubtypeofantisocialbehavior toconstrainthedevelopmentofarangeofemo-
isconsistentwithathirdandsomewhatoverlap- tional, cognitive, and social skills (Calkins &
pingapproachtothestudyofantecedentsofcon- Fox,2002;Nigg&Huang-Pollock,2003).
ductproblemsandprecursorstoantisocialbehav- Disruptivebehaviorssuchasaggression,defi-
ior.Thisapproachhasfocusedontheemotional ance,andtempertantrumsaresomeofthemost
skills that the child brings to interactions with common behavioral problems seen in children
others,andthatmayunderlieproblematicbehav- (Beauchaine,Strassberg,Kees,&Drabick,2002).
ioralrespondingandleadtodisruptivebehavior. Traditionally, it was thought that asyoung chil-
Thisworkplacesaparticularemphasisonemo- drenacquiremorecognitive,linguistic,andregu-
tionregulationandthewayinwhichspecificman- latoryskills,theyarebetterabletocopewithde-
ifestations of very early problem behaviors are velopmentalchallengesandoutgrowthesetypes
characterized by poor or maladaptive regulatory of problem behaviors (Campbell, 2002; Kopp,
skills(Cole,Hall,&Radzioch,2009;Keenan& 1982).Indeed,muchresearchhasshownanorma-
Shaw,2003).Fromadevelopmentalperspective, tivedevelopmentalpathwayofexternalizingspec-
success or failure at important developmental trum behavior problems that peaks during the
tasks, like the acquisition of emotion regulation thirdyear,andshowsadistinctdeclinewithage
skills during toddlerhood and preschool, likely (Hartup,1974;Tremblay,2000).However,con-
playssomeroleinthetrajectoryofmoreserious siderableresearchhasalsodemonstratedthatearly
problem behavioras children enter the peerand aggressive and oppositional behaviors are risk
schoolcontexts(Hill,Degnan,Calkins,&Keane, factorsforthedevelopmentoflater,moreserious
2006;Keane&Calkins,2004).Moreover,from problems such as conduct disorder, attention-
this standpoint, early childhood behavior prob- deficit/hyperactivitydisorder,andjuveniledelin-
lemsareconsideredariskfactorforlaterantisocial quency(forreviews,seeCampbell,2002;Camp-
behavior and suggest that the mechanism(s) re- belletal.,2000).Clearly,althoughitmaybethe
sponsible for ongoing behavioral difficulties are case that most children acquire adaptive skills
tobefoundintheinteractionsbetweenveryearly that helpthem manage challengingsituations in
childfunctioning,particularlywithrespecttothe appropriate and constructive ways (e.g., Coie &
regulation of arousal, and the contexts in which Dodge, 1998; Hartup, 1996; Tremblay, 2000),
thedevelopmentofregulationisoccurring:family forsomechildren,earlyonsetexternalizingprob-
andpeerrelationships. lemsremainstableandleadtomoreseriousmal-
adaptiveoutcomes(Campbell,2002;Cummings,
Ianotti, & Zahn-Waxler, 1989). Of importance,
AntecedentsofAntisocialBehavior:
chronic disruptive behavior problems are often
ChildhoodBehaviorProblems
resistanttotreatmentandmayresultinsignificant
The study of childhood behavior problems has coststochildren,families,andsocietyovertime
focused on two broad sets of difficulties: those (Shawetal.,1998).Thus,understandingthedif-
characterized by aggression and acting-out be- ferentialpathwaysfromearlytolaterproblematic
1098 S.D.CalkinsandS.P.Keane
behavior is of both theoretical and practical mechanismofself-regulation,withaparticular
significance. emphasisonmeasuringspecificregulatorypro-
Consistentwithadevelopmentalpsychopa- cesses operating at different levels of analysis
thology framework, theories of externalizing and across different domains of functioning.
behavior suggest that there are individual dif- Wehaveusedthisapproachtotrytounderstand
ferences in developmental patterns of disrup- both the trajectories of problem behavior as
tive behavior. Recent research on trajectories wellasthewayinwhichvariousriskfactorsop-
of problem behaviors, including our own erate to alter those trajectories. It is important
work, finds that there are multiple trajectories that we and others who have focused on the
of antisocial behaviors that start early in life role of self-regulation in early behavior prob-
(Broidy et al., 2003; Hill, Degnan, Calkins, & lems (cf. Olson & Sameroff, 2009) place this
Keane, 2008; Nagin & Tremblay, 1999; Shaw, development within the context of family and
Gilliom, Ingoldsby, & Nagin, 2003). These peer relationships, highlighting the transac-
patternsincludeanormativedeclinepatterncon- tionalroleofsuchrelationshipsinshapingand
sistent with the findings of longitudinal studies beingshapedbythechild’sfunctioning.
of toddler and early childhood functioning (cf.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network,
ASelf-RegulatoryFramework
2004);anearlyonsetpattern,whichaccountsfor
forUnderstandingEarlyChildhood
the stability of problem behavior across early
BehaviorProblems
childhood (Broidy et al., 2003); and an adoles-
cent-limited pattern, which appears to be more Inourwork,wedevelopedaconceptualmodelof
transientandlesspredictiveofongoingdifficul- thedevelopmentof childhooddisruptive behav-
ties(Moffitt,2003). iorsthatfocusedonmechanismsandmoderating
Althoughtheexistenceofmultiplepatternsof factors,highlightingvariationsindevelopmental
disruptive behavior has been supported empiri- patternsofproblembehaviorsforboysandgirls
cally, the array of factors that might distinguish (Calkins, 1994, 2004, 2009; Calkins & Keane,
among these trajectories is less clear. Prior re- 2004; Degnan, Calkins, Keane, & Hill-Soder-
search has focused on several child and envi- lund,2008;Hilletal.,2006).Thismodelhypoth-
ronmental factors, including, but not limited to, esizesthatself-regulationisakeysetofprocesses
genes,neural,andphysiologicalprocesses,tem- that are directly and interactively linked with the
perament, family functioning, and interaction, development of behavioral difficulties. Self-regu-
andpeerrelationshipsandsocialskills(cf.Lahey, lation allows an organism to control biological,
Moffitt,&Caspi,2003;Olson&Sameroff,2009). emotional, behavioral, and cognitive responses
Itisimportanttonotethatmuchoftheworkon (Vohs&Baumeister,2004).Becauseofitsdepen-
antecedentsofearlybehaviorproblemshasbeen denceonthematurationofprefrontal-limbiccon-
framed largely in terms of risk factors for prob- nections,thedevelopmentofself-regulatoryskills
lematic behaviors and outcomes, with less em- is relativelyprotracted (Beauregard,Levesque, &
phasisonunderstandingthemechanismsandpro- Paquette, 2004), from the emergence of basic
cessesthat link risk factorsto outcomes (Rutter, and automatic regulation of biological processes
2003).Frameworksthatfocusondevelopmental inearlychildhoodtothemoreself-consciousand
process rather than correlates will likely lead to intentional regulation of behavior and cognition
furtherelucidationof howriskfactorsare impli- emerging in middle childhood and adolescence,
catedinthecontinuityordiscontinuityofproblem thatrequireandaresupportedby,biologicalpro-
behavior. cesses(Ochsner&Gross,2004).Ourmodelalso
Inourworkonthetrajectoriesofearlyprob- hypothesizesthatcontextualfactors,includingrela-
lem behavior from toddlerhood through early tionships with parents and peers, moderate the
childhood,wehavetriedtoidentifythedimen- links between self-regulation and developmental
sions of child functioning that appear to be patternsofproblembehaviors.
compromised and that may underlie the ten- Our focus on specific self-regulatory pro-
dency to engage in difficult and disruptive cess,suchastheabilitytocontrolphysiological
behavior. We have focused on the proximal arousal or the capacity to manage negative
Developmentaloriginsofearlyantisocialbehavior 1099
affect,providesuswithmoreproximalmecha- temprovidesaphysiologicalwindowonregu-
nisms, and perhaps, targets of interventions, latory skills; it functions as a complex system
that may help to elucidate howand whysome ofafferentandefferentfeedbackpathwaysthat
children are at greater risk than others for are integrated with other neurophysiological
chronic disruptive behavior problems. That is, and neuroanatomical processes, reciprocally
aself-regulatoryperspectiveonthestabilityof linking cardiac activity with central nervous
problem behavior from toddlerhood to early system processes (Chambers & Allen, 2007).
childhood may begin to answer the question Pathways of the parasympathetic nervous sys-
of how known risk factors such as compro- tem in particular are implicated in these feed-
mised parent functioning work in conjunction back processes and, consequently, play a key
withchildcharacteristicsindefiningthetrajecto- roleintheregulationofstate,motoractivity,at-
riesofproblembehaviorornormativefunction- tention,emotion,andcognition(Porges,2003).
ing. In our work, we have attempted to exam- Specifically,themyelinatedvagusnerve,origi-
inethechild’sbehaviorincontextsandsituations nating in the brainstem nucleus ambiguous,
thatmayprovideinsightintotheproximalmecha- provides input to the sinoatrial node of the
nismswherebychildrenengageinaggressive,im- heart, producing dynamic changes in cardiac
pulsive,disruptive,oroppositionalbehaviorver- activity that allow the organism to transition
sus adaptive behavior. Using this approach, we between sustaining metabolic processes and
have identified several core self-regulatory pro- generatingmorecomplexresponsestoenviron-
cessesthatareobservableacrossdifferentlevels mental events (Porges, 2007). This central–
ofchildfunctioningandthatinfluencethechild’s peripheral neural feedback loop is functional
adaptive functioning and capacity to learn from relativelyearlyindevelopment(Porges,2007).
experiences. Ofparticularinteresttoresearchersstudying
Using this multilevel process-oriented ap- emotionalandcognitivecontrolhasbeenmea-
proach, we have observed that the early pro- surement of vagal regulation of the heart (in-
cesses of physiological, attentional, emotional, dexed by vagal withdrawal or decreases in
andcognitive control are integral tothe emerg- respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) when the
enceofchildcompetence(Calkins,2009).When organism is challenged. Vagal withdrawal is
these processes are not functional, the child’s linkedtobehavioralprocessesthatareregulatory
successatmanagingthechallengesofearlyde- innature.Greatervagalwithdrawalduringchal-
velopment is compromised. Moreover, failures lengingsituationsisrelatedtobetterstateregula-
ofthesebasicregulatoryprocesseshavecascad- tion,greaterself-soothing,andmoreattentional
ingconsequences.First,theycontributedirectly control in infancy (DeGangi, DiPietro, Green-
to behaviors that are disruptive to the child’s span, & Porges, 1991; Huffman et al., 1998),
functioninginthesituationsinwhichtheyoccur. fewer behavior problems and more appropriate
Second,becausethechildisunabletocontrolaf- emotionregulationinpreschool(Calkins,Blan-
fectandbehavior,thesefailureslimitopportuni- don,Williford,&Keane,2007;Calkins&Ded-
tiestolearnadaptiveskillsinsocialinteractional mon, 2000; Calkins & Keane, 2004), and sus-
contexts withparents and peers.From thisper- tained attention and effortful control in school-
spective, then, understanding the contribution age children (Calkins et al., 2007). Excessive
of self-regulation to early behavior problems vagalregulationmayindexovercontrolofemo-
versus adaptive behavior of childhood is en- tion and arousal, and has been linked to inter-
hancedbyanexaminationofthecomponentpro- nalizingsymptoms(Beauchaine,2001;Calkins
cesses of self-regulation that emerge over this etal.,2007).
developmental period. Thus, a central focus of Emotion regulation is defined as those be-
our recent research has been to examine the haviors, whether automatic or effortful, con-
roleoftheseearlyfoundationalprocessesinsub- scious or unconscious, that are elicited during
sequentbehavioraladaptation. anaffectivelyarousingsituation(Buss&Gold-
Biologicalfoundationsofself-regulationre- smith, 1998; Calkins & Hill, 2007). Emotion
flect dynamic processes of both physiological regulation helps individuals modulate their
andneuralactivity.Theautonomicnervoussys- arousalandfacilitatespositivesocialinteraction
1100 S.D.CalkinsandS.P.Keane
andeffectivesocialproblemsolving(Eisenberg icitsarerelatedtopatternsofbehavioraladjust-
et al., 1996; Eisenberg, Fabes, Murphy, & mentversusmaladjustment.Forexample,there
Maszk, 1995; Howse, Calkins, Anastopoulos, is good evidence that young children with be-
Keane, & Shelton, 2003). The ability to regu- havior problems display a range of regulatory
lateone’semotionsisacriticalachievementat- deficits (cf. Olson & Sameroff, 2009). How-
tained during childhood, and has implications ever, regulatory skills have been shown to be
for many dimensions of adolescent develop- particularly important in the development of
ment, including behavioral adjustment, social antisocial behavior. Lower levels of effortful
relationships,andschoolachievement(Calkins control have been linked with less empathy
&Howse,2004).Byadolescence,thepatternof (Rothbart, Ahadi, & Hershey, 1994) and the
emotionregulationmaybeentrenchedanddif- lags in the development of conscience (Ko-
ficult to alter. For example, among older chil- chanska, 1995), two factors that are reliably
dren, inhibition and suppression of negative linked to adolescent antisocial behavior. Not
emotionhasbeenassociatedwithgreaterinter- surprisingly, low levels of effortful control are
nalizing problems (Suveg & Zeman, 2004), also linked with externalizing problems and
whereas undercontrolled negative emotion has conduct disorder in preadolescents (Oldehin-
been linked to greater externalizing problems kel, Hartman, De Winter, Veenstra, & Ormel,
(Eisenbergetal.,2001). 2004).Otherformsofself-regulationincluding
Cognitive control processes include atten- behavioral self-control (Henry, Caspi, Moffitt,
tional and inhibitory/effortful control skills and &Silva,1996)anddelayofgratification(Krue-
working memory (Blair, Peters, & Granger, ger, Caspi, Moffitt, White, & Stouthamer-
2004;Carlson,Moses,&Claxton,2004).These Loeber,1996)havealsobeenshowntodirectly
skills develop interdependently (Bjorklund & affect the developmentand expression of anti-
Harnishfeger,1995)andenhanceanindividual’s social behavior across childhood and adoles-
abilitytoengageineffectiveplanningandgoal- cence(Melnick&Hinshaw,2000).
directed behavior during adolescence, when de- Although our model of self-regulation fo-
mands for management of academic and social cusesonthewayinwhichfailuresofbasicregu-
challenges are increasingly important. In work latoryprocessesunderlieearlybehavioralmal-
withyoungchildren,thefocushasbeenprimarily adjustment, it is also clear that trajectories of
ontheabilitytouseworkingmemoryandinhib- both self-regulation and behavioral adjustment
itorycontrol.Youngchildren’sabilitiestoattend aresubjecttotheenvironmentaleffectsassoci-
to salient aspects of atask, inhibit prepotent re- ated with early relationships. For example, a
sponses,andfollowrulesareoftentheindicators greatdealofrecentconceptualworkandempir-
ofearlyexecutivefunctionskills.Moreover,these ical research suggest that caregiver behavior
basiccognitiveskillsareconsideredfoundational mayaffectthedevelopmentofbehavioralself-
to later academic functioning. For example, ex- regulation skills (Calkins, 2004; Cole, Martin,
ecutivefunctionskillshavebeenlinkedtoliteracy &Dennis,2004),aswellasthefunctioningof
and mathematical reasoning in young children numerous biological regulatory and stress sys-
(Espyetal.,2004;Gathercole,Brown,&Picker- tems(Calkins&Hill,2007;Gunnar,2006).
ing,2003).The development ofexecutivefunc- Caregivereffectsatthebehaviorallevelhave
tioninginchildrenhasbeenlinkedtothedevelop- longbeenhypothesizedtoplayakeyroleinthe
ment of the frontal lobes and associated neural emergence of early regulatory skills (Kopp,
connections. Consequently,dramatic changes in 1982). During infancy, successful regulation
executive functioning during childhood have largelydependsoncaregiversupportandflexible
beenreported,especiallybetween3and5years responding(Calkins&Fox,2002;Kopp,1982;
of age (e.g., Carlson, Davis, & Leach, 2005; Sroufe,2000).Totheextentthatacaregivercan
Zelazo,Mu¨ller,Frye,&Marcovitch,2003). appropriatelyreadinfant signals andrespondin
Thisbriefreviewofthedevelopmentofthe waysthatminimizedistress,oralternatively,mo-
components of self-regulation suggests that tivatepositiveinteraction,theinfantwillintegrate
thereareexpectedtrajectoriesofskillsinthese such experiences into the emerging behavioral
subdomains,andthatpatternsofregulatorydef- repertoire of self-regulatory skills. In addition,
Developmentaloriginsofearlyantisocialbehavior 1101
deviationsfromsupportivecaregivingmaycon- dominatingactivitieswiththeirchildreninstead
tribute to patterns of self-regulation that under- ofbeingchildfocusedandencouragingactions
mine the development of appropriate skills and initiatedbythechildren(Gardner,1994;Rubin,
abilities needed for later developmental chal- Booth, Rose-Krasnor, and Mills, 1995). Thus,
lenges(Cassidy,1994).Duringtoddlerhood,the considerable evidence suggeststhat more con-
rangeofself-regulatoryskillsofthechildisex- flict,lesssynchrony,andlowersharedpositive
pectedtoincrease,andthecaregiver’ssupportive affectmaybeimportantelementsofthechild’s
versusnonsupportiveroleinthisprocessisalso relationshipwiththecaregiverandmayleadto
animportantpredictorofpositiveoutcomes(Cal- increasesinthekindsofdifficultbehaviorthat
kins, 2009). Byearly childhood, when children may evolve into more serious and entrenched
begintoengageinarangeofself-helpbehaviors behaviorproblemsinlaterchildhood.
andexpectationsforwell-regulatedbehaviorin- Althoughtherehasbeenlessfocusonpeers
crease,parentingbehaviorandchildself-regula- and the development of self-regulation, it is
tioninteracttocreatemultiplepathwaystoadjust- clear that by the time children enter school,
ment and maladjustment (Blandon, Calkins, peers, like parents, help with the development
Keane,&O’Brien,2008). of these important self-regulatory skills. Peers
Parentingbehaviorhasalsobeenimplicated serve as sources of emotional support during
specificallyintheemergenceandmaintenance timesofstress(Hartup,1996)butalsoprovide
of early childhood behavior problems; this feedback about the appropriateness of emo-
work has focused on a number of indices of tional displays. Anger expression, bossiness,
the parent–child relationship as predictors and aggression, and impulsivity are all negatively
risk factors in predicting early externalizing related to peer status (Eisenberg, Fabes, Bernz-
spectrum problems in particular. For example, weig,&Karbon,1993;Keane&Calkins,2004);
a number of studies have shown that insecure rejected children are also more effusive in their
infantattachmentispredictiveoflaterbehavior display of emotion (i.e., happiness) to positive
problemsinchildren(cf.Shawetal.,1998).In events (Hubbard, 2001). Taken together, these
addition,aconsiderablebodyofevidenceindi- studies suggest that both positive and negative
catesthatpreschoolchildrenaremorelikelyto high-intensityemotionalbehaviorplayarolein
show overactive, noncompliant, aggressive, determining concurrent peer status. The peer
and impulsive behavior when their parents are group may also attempt to socialize children’s
displayingnegativecontrolandareuninvolved, emotion regulation through specific negative
rejecting, and harsh (Campbell, 1995; Pettit, treatment,suchaspeervictimizationorexclusion
Bates,&Dodge,1993). (Salisch,2001).
Childrendisplayingchildbehaviorproblems Peershavebeenshowntoinfluenceantisocial
also have been found to have less harmonious behaviordevelopmentaswell.Earlypeerrejec-
mother–child interactions (Gardner, 1994), re- tionisrelatedtolateraggressivebehavior,even
lationships that are often characterized as low when early aggression is taken into account
onaffection,positiveinvolvement,andwarmth (Dodge, Bates, & Petit, 1990), and it is clear
(McFadyen-Ketchum, Bates, Dodge, & Pettit, that these types of peer interactions are related
1996). In other studies, mother–child relation- to higher levels of delinquency and maladjust-
shipswherethechildrenaredisplayingbehav- ment(Deater-Deckard,2001;Rubin,Bukowski,
ior problems have been characterized by high &Parker,1998).Childrenwhoassociatewithde-
conflict and coercion. Patterson has identified viant peers are more likely to engage in delin-
a pattern of coercive interaction between quentbehaviors(Dishion&Piehler,2007),and
mothersandchildren,whereboththemothers’ adolescentswhodevelopfriendshipswithdelin-
andchildren’saversivebehaviorsarereinforced quent peers may also contribute to increased
and escalate as a result of this reinforcement levels of maladaptive behaviors through de-
(Patterson, 1982; Patterson, DeBaryshe, & viancytraining.Despiteconsistentfindingsdem-
Ramsey, 1989). Finally, mothers of children onstratingthatpeers caninfluence thedevelop-
displayingbehaviorproblemshavebeenfound ment of antisocial behavior, many youth who
to be more adult focused by controlling and associate with deviant peer contacts do not go
1102 S.D.CalkinsandS.P.Keane
ontodisplaysimilarpatternsofantisocialbehav- Furthercomplexityisaddedbytheconsideration
ior. One explanation for these differential out- ofthewaysinwhichthesetrajectoriesaremod-
comes is individual differences in regulatory erated by environmental factors, including, but
skillssuchasself-control(Hirschi,2004).Gard- not limited to family and peer relationships. It
ner,Dishion,andConnell(2008)foundthatthe ispossible,however,tomakesomegeneralstate-
interactionbetweenadolescents’emotionregula- mentsabouttheunfoldingofthesecoreself-reg-
tionandassociationwithdeviantpeerspredicted ulatoryprocesses.Thus,thehierarchicalorgani-
antisocial behavior at age 19, controlling for zation of this model suggests that if early
earlyantisocialbehaviors.Specifically,peerde- difficulties in self-regulation, for example, at
viancewasnotrelatedtoantisocialbehaviorfor the physiological and attentional level, are not
highregulatingadolescents;however,highpeer moderatedbypositiveenvironmentaleffects,be-
deviancewasparticularlydetrimentalforadoles- havioraldifficultiesmaybemoreentrenchedand
centswithlowself-regulation.Thus,contextsof resistant to intervention. Data from recent re-
low peer deviance served as a protective factor search suggests that early, severe, and chronic
forlowregulators. problems often characterize stable trajectories
Smaller social networks and dyadic friend- ofproblembehaviorthatareobservedinadoles-
ships also attenuate the association between cence (NICHD SECCRN, 2005), and that the
self-regulation difficulties and later delinquent deficits associated with a lack of appropriate
andantisocialbehaviorsinchildrenandadoles- and adaptive emotion regulation persist and af-
cents. Poulin, Dishion, and Haas (1999) found fect early peer relationships (Keane & Calkins,
that highly delinquent boys had persistent high 2004). Second,moderators such as parents and
delinquencyscores1yearlateronlyinthecontext peers must also be conceptualized in terms of
offriendshipswithlowlevelsofpositivefeatures. thevariantsofpooradjustmentthatarepossible
Similarly,BerndtandKeefe(1995)demonstrated asaconsequenceofthesemoderationaleffects.
thatdisruptivebehaviorsdecreaseinthecontext Thus,distinctionsbetweenpatternsofproblems
ofhigh-qualityfriendships,evenwhenthefriend characterized by attention deficits without dis-
isinitiallydisruptive.Althoughthesestudiesdo ruptive behaviors versus those with associated
not addressthe role of emotion regulation, it is disruptive behaviors may be afunctionofpoor
plausible that through these positive and high- regulation at the attentional level in combina-
quality friendships children are learning more tionwithsomesupportiveversusnonsupportive
effective social and emotional strategies, which environmentaldimensionthateitherfacilitatesor
lead,inpart,tolessdelinquency. disrupts subsequent emotional and behavioral
Poor self-regulation places children at risk regulation. Similarly, early externalizing prob-
for negative peer treatment, which can further lemsmayevolveintomoresevereconductprob-
exacerbate behavior problems. However, peer lems, or perhaps anxiety and depression, as a
contexts can change the trajectories of these consequence of some specific type of negative
children. Exposure to more normative peer peerenvironment (e.g.,rejectionvs.neglect by
groups may encourage the development of peers). Third, the nature of co-occurring prob-
adaptiveemotionregulationskills,andmayde- lems, which are an ongoing challenge to the
crease the likelihood that poor regulation will studyofearlybehaviorproblems,maybefacili-
leadtoseriousdelinquentbehaviors.Although tated by a consideration of the nature of their
poorself-regulationdecreasesthelikelihoodof specific underlying self-regulatory deficit. This
successful friendship interactions, some delin- impliesthatstudyingtheself-regulatorycharac-
quent children are able to establish stable and teristics of particular behavioral subtypes may
high-quality friendships. These high-quality helpustoidentifythedifferentialdevelopmental
friendships then lead to fewer delinquent and processesthatproducesuchsubtypes.
antisocialbehaviorsovertime. Insum,ourmodeloftheemergenceofearly
Clearly,itisdifficulttodescribethecomplex disruptive behavior focuses on the multiple
waysthattrajectoriesofself-regulationaffectthe self-regulatory deficits that may characterize
trajectoriesofbehaviorproblemsandthediffer- particular patterns of problem behavior. Al-
entialpathwaystospecificbehavioralsubtypes. though the complexities inherent in such a
Developmentaloriginsofearlyantisocialbehavior 1103
model are numerous, particularly when one children’s behavioral, emotional, and academic
considers the proximal and distal moderators functioning and, beginning in kindergarten, we
that have been identified in prior research, addedapeerassessmenttomeasurehowsuccess-
somefoundationalquestionsmustbeaddressed fulchildrenwereintheirsocialrelationships.
first. Thus, an important step in verifying this Wehaveusedamultimethod,multi-informant
conceptual framework is to specify the role approach to gather information about children’s
that different levels of self-regulation may ability to control themselves in individual tasks
play in constraining subsequent development, andintheschoolandpeersettings.Thedatacol-
andtostudytheroleofthemostproximalmod- lectedtothispointhavebeenusedtoaddressthe
erators (parents and peers) on indicators of question of whether and how self-regulation
child functioning. We have been addressing skillsaffectchildren’sdevelopmentacrossmany
theseimportantdevelopmentalissuesinanon- areas of functioning, and in particular, of the
goinglongitudinalstudyofearlyself-regulation relevance of these skills to the persistence and
andbehaviorproblems. desistanceofdisruptivebehaviors.Herewesum-
marizesomeofourfindingsthatlendsupportto
our model of the physiological self-regulatory
LongitudinalDataonSelf-Regulationand
component of disruptive behavior and the role
BehaviorProblems:TheRIGHT
ofimportantcontextualfactors,namely,parents
TrackResearchProject
andpeers,ininfluencingpathwaystobehavioral
The RIGHT Track Research Project focuses on adjustmentandmaladjustment.
thedevelopmentofself-regulationanddisruptive Oneoftheprimarygoalsofourresearchhas
behaviorproblemsinagroupof4502-year-olds been to understand the way in which children’s
andtheirmothersrecruitedintothestudybegin- self-regulatorybehaviorsaresupportedbyfunda-
ning in 1996 (Calkins, Blandon, et al., 2007; mentalphysiologicalprocesses.Theparadigmwe
Calkins&Keane,2004;Smith,Calkins,Keane, usetoexaminethisissueistomeasurecardiacva-
Shelton,&Anastopoulos,2004;Williford,Cal- galtone,orRSA,atrestandinsituationsinwhich
kins, & Keane, 2007). Children were recruited the child is challenged to utilize self-regulatory
fromthecommunityusingabehaviorproblems skillssuchasattentional,emotional,andcognitive
questionnaire that emphasized externalizing or control. We have been especially interested in
acting-outproblems(Achenbach,1991a,1991b, whetherchildrenwithpoorerself-regulationdis-
1992) that assessed a broad array of behaviors play more symptoms of disruptive behavior at
seen in toddlers and that was completed by the home. In an initial analysis comparing the
mothers of several hundred toddlers. We over- 2-year-old children at highest risk for disruptive
sampled for children who were behaviorally at behaviorproblemstothoseatlowestrisk,weob-
risk,with30%ofthesetoddlersidentifiedbytheir served that high risk children displayed signifi-
mothersasbeingparticularlydifficulttomanage cantlylowervagalwithdrawal(lowerbaselineto
(hadmoretempertantrums,weremoredifficultto task changes in RSA) across all challenge tasks
soothe,becamemoreeasilyfrustrated,criedmore than did children at low risk for behavior prob-
frequently, compared to the typical 2-year-old). lems.Moreover,thesechildrendisplayedapattern
Whenthechildrenwere2,mothersandtoddlers ofpoorerattentionalandemotionalregulationto
participated in laboratory assessments that mea- thechallengingtasksthandidlowerriskchildren
sured the different domains of self-regulation. (Calkins&Dedmon,2000).Thus,earlyevidence
Mothers were asked to report on their child’s, fromourstudyindicatedthatchildrenwithgreater
theirown,andtheirfamily’sfunctioning.Wecon- levels of problematic behavior during toddler-
ductedsimilarassessmentsatages4,5,7,and10 hood, behavior that fell reasonably outside the
years, broadening ourassessment to include the levelconsiderednormativeevenatthisage,dis-
home environment. In addition to laboratory playedaprofileoflowerlevelsofphysiological,
and home context, we also assessed children’s attentional,andemotionalregulation.
functioning in the classroom when children en- Inafollow-upofthesesamechildrenatage
tered preschool and formal schooling (Keane & 4, continued behavioral difficulties, including
Calkins, 2004). We asked teachers to report on social problems and difficulties with emotion
1104 S.D.CalkinsandS.P.Keane
regulation, were characteristic of the children hey, & Hart, 1993), and may result in signifi-
who displayed, across the preschool period, a cantlypoorercardiacvagalregulationcompared
stable pattern of physiological dysregulation, tochildrenwithpureexternalizingproblems.
inthe form of lower vagalwithdrawal to chal- We explored these questions in our follow-
lenge (Calkins & Keane, 2004). Of interest, up study of the children at age 5, some of
childrenwhodisplayedapatternoflowervagal whomwereathighriskforexternalizingprob-
withdrawal at age 2, but who displayed a de- lems,othersofwhomdisplayedearlyexternal-
creaseinRSAatage4,thatis,apatternofphys- izingproblemswithco-occurringinternalizing
iological regulation characteristics of children problems, and a third group of children with
withfewerbehaviorproblems,showedcontin- no behavioral problems (Calkins, Graziano,
ued difficulties, suggesting that the early pat- etal.,2007).Thechildrenwereassessedagain
ternofcardiacvagalregulationmayhavecon- in a batteryof tasksthat were emotionallyand
strained the acquisition of regulatory skills behaviorally challenging. We found that chil-
that affected behavior later in the preschool drendisplayingamixedprofileofexternalizing
period. and internalizing behavior problems displayed
These early findings suggest that there may the greatest cardiac vagal regulation, whereas
beaphysiologicalprofileofpoorervagalregula- children with a pure externalizing profile dis-
tionofheartrateactivitythatmaybecharacteris- playedtheleastcardiacvagalregulation.These
ticofchildrenwithearlyexternalizingproblems. datasuggestthateitherthepatternofgreaterva-
However,onechallengetothestudyofphysio- galregulationleadstoanxietysymptomsorthat
logicalregulationamongchildrenwithbehavior children with emergent anxiety become more
problems characterized by aggression is that regulated physiologically. Alternatively, these
these problems often present with co-occurring childrenmay,infact,beoverregulatedphysio-
internalizing symptoms (anxiety, withdrawal; logically, which mayexplain the high level of
Achenbach, Howell, Quay & Connors, 1991; co-occurring internalizing symptoms. Follow-
Gilliom & Shaw, 2004). These co-occurring up analyses of these two groups of children
problemsare often ignored, either because they indicated that the pure externalizing group
are thought to be a consequence of single-re- displayed more symptoms of reactive versus
porterbias,orbecausethesamplesizesinmost proactiveaggression,asreportedbytheirteach-
studies of children’s behavior problems are too ers.Thesedataprovideevidencethatthepattern
smalltoallowforseparateconsiderationofpure ofearlyproblembehaviorandpoorphysiolog-
versus co-occurring problems (Calkins & Ded- ical regulation may lead to ongoing problems
mon, 2000). However, in a recent large-scale withcontrolofemotionandsocialinteractions.
study of early externalizing behavior problems, Although much of our work with this sam-
researchersidentifieddifferentialbehavioraland plehasemphasizedthephysiologicalbasisfor
environmental correlates and predictors of pure children’s emerging regulatory skills and be-
versus mixed patterns of externalizing behavior havior problems, we have also examined the
problems (Keiley, Lofthouse, Bates, Dodge, & roleofparentsandpeersinfacilitatinganddis-
Pettit,2003).Clearly,itisimportanttoexamine rupting these pathways. We have extensively
whether these different behavioral patterns may examined, for example, longitudinal trajecto-
be distinguished by cardiac vagal regulation in riesofbothbehaviorproblemsandself-regula-
the form of RSA suppression to emotional and tionskills.So,forexample,wefoundthatchil-
behavioral challenges. One hypothesis is that dren with high and stable trajectories of ex-
the co-occurring anxiety symptoms, which are ternalizing problems across toddlerhood and
often associated with overcontrol of emotion, preschool were characterized by poor physio-
mayindicatelessseverebehaviorproblems(Li- logicalregulationandlowmaternalcontroldur-
lienfield, 2003) and may reflect greater cardiac ing toddlerhood (Degnan et al., 2008). Sim-
vagalregulationcomparedtochildrenwithpure ilarly, although on average children display a
externalizing problems. A second possibility is patternofincreaseinemotionregulationskills
that co-occurring problems may be considered over the preschool period, we have observed
more severe than pure problems (Hinshaw, La- thatearlychildandenvironmentalfactorsaffect