(PS3-88) Exploring Early Cognitive and Affective Predictors of Later Psychopathology Among Children with Histories of Early Adversity

Abstract Text: Early adversity (e.g., neglect, violence exposure) confers risk for later psychopathology via alterations in cognitive and affective development (Laricchiuta et al., 2023). Children with histories of early adversity are at heightened risk for difficulties in affective regulation and lower
cognitive abilities, each of which have been linked to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology (Cohen et al., 2002; González-Acosta et al., 2021). Among youth with histories of early adversity, few studies have examined the relative contributions of these pathways on risk for psychopathology in adolescence, a period of heightened risk for the onset of psychological symptoms (Schriber et al., 2016). We sought to address these gaps by examining the effects of early and middle childhood cognitive and affective factors on internalizing and externalizing
psychopathology in adolescence for children with known histories of early adversity. 
Data were drawn from a randomized controlled trial of an early childhood intervention focused on increasing parental sensitivity for Child Protective Services (CPS)-referred children, who were followed into adolescence. Affective regulation was assessed in early childhood using the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Wakschlag et al., 2008) and in middle childhood using the Emotion Regulation Checklist (i.e., caregiver observed emotional self-regulation; Shields & Cicchetti, 1998). Language ability was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Dunn, 2019; Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2014) in early childhood and the Verbal Comprehension score from the Woodcock Johnson IV (Schrank & Wendling, 2018) in middle childhood. The Flanker/Stop-Signal Reaction Time Task (i.e., interference control and selective attention; Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974; Logan et al. 1984), a measure of executive function, was administered in middle childhood. Psychopathology was assessed at age 13 using the caregiver-reported Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1999) and the self-reported Child Depression Inventory (Kovács, 1978). We conducted preliminary analysis within a structural equation modeling framework, with age 13 psychopathology variables regressed on early childhood variables, controlling for intervention condition (N = 192). The model provided a good fit to the data, RMSEA = .03, CFI = .99, TLI = .99, SRMR = .06. Early childhood language ability predicted externalizing problems, B = .15, 95% CI [.06, .24], p = .001, and self-reported depression, B = .05, 95% CI [.01, .08], p = .009, in adolescence, but not internalizing problems. Early childhood anger modulation did not predict adolescent psychopathology, all p’s > .05. Final model presented at the conference will include middle childhood predictors and additional covariates. 
Findings will enhance our understanding of earlier predictors of psychopathology in adolescents with known histories of early adversity, which can inform early interventions to reduce the long-term impact of childhood adversity on adolescent mental health trajectories.