COGNITIVE RISKS IN PRESCHOOLERS AT RISK FOR DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

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The purpose of this project is the identification of cognitive risks in preschool age children who are at risk for developing disruptive behavior disorders. Decades of research on the relations between school difficulties, learning disabilities, and intelligence and disruptive behavior disorders have demonstrated modest, significant relations but precise understanding of the nature of these relations remains to be determined. Advances in cognitive and neurosciences provide new avenues of examining specific dimensions of cognitive functioning. In this project, three cognitive domains were assessed: verbal, visuospatial, and executive functioning. These domains test hypotheses that disruptive behavior disorders, at least for some children, are associated with difficulty with (a) verbal mediation of behavior, (b) processing of nonverbal socioemotional information, and (c) abilities in inhibiting behavioral and emotional impulses and focusing and planning appropriate actions and problem-solving.