Preschool Executive Control, Temperament, and Adolescent Dietary Behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Child temperament styles characterized by increased emotionality or pleasure seeking may increase risk for less healthful eating patterns, while strong executive control (EC) may be protective. The interaction of these characteristics with longitudinal outcomes has not yet been examined. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the association of preschool temperament and EC, as well as their interaction with adolescent eating. METHODS: Preschoolers (N = 313) were recruited into a longitudinal study, with behavioral measurement of EC at age 5.25 years, temperament assessed multiple times across preschool, and eating outcomes assessed in adolescence (mean age = 15.34 years). RESULTS: Separate latent moderated structural equation models demonstrated that weaker EC was associated with eating less healthful foods, including high sugar foods, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and convenience foods (p < .05). In the moderation models, negative affectivity temperament was correlated with eating less healthful foods, high sugar foods, and SSBs (p < .05). Children lower in surgency/extraversion temperament were more likely to drink SSBs. There was an interaction between temperament and EC, such that children high in negative affectivity with weaker EC were particularly more likely to consume less healthful foods, high sugar foods, and SSBs (p < .05). There was no interaction of surgency with EC and food consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Child characteristics measured early in development were associated with later adolescent eating behaviors. Adequate EC could be necessary to counteract the drive toward eating associated with temperaments high in negative affectivity.

A preschool temperament style called Negative Affectivity, characterized by high levels of reactivity and negative emotion, predicted eating patterns a decade later. These children were more likely to eat less healthful foods and drink sugary drinks as adolescents. Strong executive function skills were important for redirecting toward healthful eating in children with Negative Affectivity.

Executive Control and Adolescent Health: Toward A Conceptual Framework.

Executive control is a set of cognitive abilities that may impact a variety of adolescent health behaviors and outcomes; however, research on executive control as a contributor to the physical health of youth is relatively limited. Therefore, the current article explores the possible role of executive control in adolescent health by reviewing relevant literature and proposing a conceptual framework to guide future research in this area. The development of executive control from preschool through adolescence is described, with particular attention to executive control in the unique health context of adolescence. A new conceptual model is proposed, focusing on how executive control may play a critical role in supporting health in adolescence and beyond through the mechanisms of attentional, behavioral, and emotional control. Literature exploring associations between youth executive control and key health behaviors (including diet, physical activity, sleep and substance use) is reviewed. Researchers and clinicians are encouraged to consider executive control as an important cross-cutting contributor to health during adolescence and beyond and to incorporate this construct into longitudinal studies of health.