Journal article
Youth Social Functioning and Externalizing Psychopathology in Relation to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Network Analysis
Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment, Vol.48(2), 37
06/06/2026
DOI: 10.1007/s10862-026-10299-z
Appears in UI Libraries Support Open Access
Abstract
Social functioning impairments are common among youth with externalizing psychopathology. Yet, questions remain regarding which symptoms drive poorer social and behavioral outcomes. Baseline parent and caregiver ratings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) were used to examine interconnections among social problems, attention problems, and externalizing problems (i.e., rule-breaking and aggression) using network modeling. Baseline ABCD data were collected in 2017 when youth were 9–10 years and includes a diverse sample (48% female; 52% male; 52.4% White, 13.4% Black, 24.0% Hispanic, and 5.5% Other) of
n
= 11,878 youth at 21 research sites across the United States. Cross-sectional findings identified four bridge symptoms, individual symptoms that connect or link different symptom clusters (or communities) within a network, of social problems with strong links to youth externalizing behaviors that were robust across sex and to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) clinical diagnoses. Longitudinally, these bridge symptoms were more predictive of externalizing problems rather than attention problems at year 1 follow-up. Findings indicated that social problems in those with attention problems are more likely due to comorbid externalizing behaviors than to the attentional symptoms. By contrast, attention-related social challenges may be more reflective of slower social maturity owing to close links with other neurodevelopmental disorders. Findings highlight the utility of a network model for conceptualization of social functioning and child behavior within a network system to examine bidirectional symptom influences and point toward potential intervention targets for youth.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Youth Social Functioning and Externalizing Psychopathology in Relation to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Network Analysis
- Creators
- Talia Y. Leman - Hologic (Germany)Molly A. Nikolas - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment, Vol.48(2), 37
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10862-026-10299-z
- ISSN
- 0882-2689
- eISSN
- 1573-3505
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Grant note
- National Institutes of Health: U01DA041048, U01DA050989, U01DA051016, U01DA041022, U01DA051018, U01DA051037, U01DA050987, U01DA041174, U01DA041106, U01DA041117, U01DA041028, U01DA041134, U01DA050988, U01DA051039, U01DA041156, U01DA041025, U01DA041120, U01DA051038, U01DA041148, U01DA041093, U01DA041089, U24DA041123, U24DA041147
Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM (ABCD) Study (https://abcdstudy.org), held in the NIMH Data Archive (NDA). This is a multisite, longitudinal study designed to recruit more than 10,000 children age 9-10 and follow them over 10 years into early adulthood. The ABCD Study (R) is supported by the National Institutes of Health and additional federal partners under award numbers U01DA041048, U01DA050989, U01DA051016, U01DA041022, U01DA051018, U01DA051037, U01DA050987, U01DA041174, U01DA041106, U01DA041117, U01DA041028, U01DA041134, U01DA050988, U01DA051039, U01DA041156, U01DA041025, U01DA041120, U01DA051038, U01DA041148, U01DA041093, U01DA041089, U24DA041123, U24DA041147. A full list of supporters is available at https://abcdstudy.org/federal-partners.html. A listing of participating sites and a complete listing of the study investigators can be found at https://abcdstudy.org/consortium_members/. ABCD consortium investigators designed and implemented the study and/or provided data but did not necessarily participate in the analysis or writing of this report. This manuscript reflects the views of the authors and may not reflect the opinions or views of the NIH or ABCD consortium investigators. The ABCD data repository grows and changes over time. The ABCD data used in this report came from ABCD Data Release 5.1 https://doi.org/10.15154/z563-zd24.
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/06/2026
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9985174609102771
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