Externalizing behavior and cognitive functioning from preschool to first-grade: Stability and predictors

A substantial body of research suggests that behavior disorders often have their onset in early childhood. Research on the stability of behavior problems from preschool to the school-aged years indicates that for many children early behavioral problems are indicative of considerable long-term impairment. Although stability has been demonstrated for about 50% of children with early problems, an equal proportion of such children are experiencing only transient difficulties. The purpose of the current study was to (1) identify child and mother characteristics that differentiate children with externalizing problems from children without such difficulties, (2) determine the stability of externalizing problems from preschool to first grade, and (3) determine which factors may account for continuity and discontinuity.;Subjects were 77 preschool children (37 boys, 40 girls) and their mothers. For some analyses, children were classified in either a pervasive externalizing, a borderline externalizing, or a comparison group. Predictor measures, assessed at preschool, included severity of child externalizing problems, child's intellectual and expressive language ability, and mother report of authoritarian child-rearing practices and of parenting stress. Outcome measures, assessed at first grade, included teacher and mother ratings of externalizing behavior problems and child's intellectual ability.;There was a moderate degree of stability of teacher and mother ratings of externalizing behavior from preschool to first grade. There was also a highly significant stability of child group status. All children categorized in the pervasive externalizing group at first grade had been identified as having pervasive difficulties at preschool.;Expected group differences at first grade between children with externalizing problems and comparisons were found for all child and parent preschool measures, with the exception of child intelligence. Regarding predictive relationships, the variables of interest each uniquely accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in first grade teacher ratings of externalizing behavior. The four variables considered together explained 45% of the variance. Similar findings emerged when predicting from the preschool measures to mother ratings of child externalizing behavior at first grade. These same variables predicted extreme groups (pervasive versus comparison) at first grade with 93% accuracy.