Executive Function Is More Strongly Associated With the Absolute Frequency of General Than Specific Externalizing Behavior

Externalizing behavior comprises impulsive and antisocial ways of engaging with one’s external environment, and substantially burdens individuals and society. Executive function consists of cognitive processes regulating emotions and behaviors. Deficits in executive function are thought to contribute to the development of externalizing behaviors; for example, weaker inhibitory control may lead to initiation of impulsive or aggressive actions. What remains unknown is whether weaker executive function contributes to elevated externalizing behaviors in general, or to specific dimensions of externalizing behavior such as substance misuse or verbal aggression. The present study (1) evaluated the structure of a wide array of externalizing behaviors assessed using absolute frequency and (2) examined executive functions in association with higher-order (i.e., general externalizing behavior) versus lower-order subdimensions of externalizing behavior. Participants included 1,237 adults aged 18–92 who completed (1) a questionnaire assessing the absolute frequency with which respondents engaged in 143 externalizing behaviors, (2) three online cognitive tasks assessing working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, and (3) established measures of externalizing and internalizing problems and functional impairment. Using exploratory and confirmatory structural equation models, informed by both theory and empiricism, we derived a well-fitting structure of externalizing behavior, assessed using absolutely frequency, comprised of a higher-order externalizing dimension and 12 lower-order subdimensions. Findings indicated that the higher-order externalizing dimension was associated with weaker composite executive function. Controlling for the higher-order externalizing accounted for most relations between executive function and lower-order dimensions. Findings suggest that executive function contributes to externalizing behaviors in general.