Impulsivity and internalizing disorders in childhood

Abstract

Impulsivity has often been related to externalizing disorders, but little is known about how it is related to symptoms of internalizing disorders. This study aims to examine the relationship between impulsivity and depression and anxiety symptoms of depression and anxiety in childhood, and compare it with its relationship with a measure of aggressive behavior, which is present in many externalizing disorders. We administered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 for children, the Children's Depression Inventory and the Screen for Children's Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders to a case-control sample of 562 children aged between 9 and 13 who were selected from an epidemiological study of anxiety and depression and whose teachers provided information about their proactive and reactive aggression. Impulsivity was related to measures of anxiety, depression and aggressive behavior, and showed higher relationships with measures of internalizing symptoms than with aggression. Motor impulsivity, a component of impulsivity related to inhibition deficits, was the component most related to anxiety and depression. Cognitive impulsivity, on the other hand, was negatively related to anxiety and depression. The relationships between impulsivity and symptoms of internalizing disorders seem to indicate that impulsivity should be taken into account not only in externalizing problems, but also in depression and anxiety in children and adolescents.