Irritability and parenting practices as mediators between executive functions and oppositional and obsessive-compulsive problems in preschool children
Zevedei, Denisa (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut)
Penelo Werner, Eva (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psicobiologia i de Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut)
Navarro, José-Blas (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psicobiologia i de Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut)
Osa, Nuria de la (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut)
Ezpeleta, Lourdes (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut)

Date:	2026
Description:	12 pàg.
Abstract:	Oppositional defiant disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder can co-occur in some children yet the factors that contribute to this comorbidity have not been thoroughly examined. We examined prospective associations between executive functions, namely Inhibitory Self-Control (ISCI) and Flexibility (FI), and oppositional defiant problems (ODP) and obsessive-compulsive problems (OCP) through irritability and parenting practices. The sample included 622 preschoolers from the community. Using questionnaires, teachers assessed children's executive functions at age 3, and parents reported irritability at age 4, parenting practices at age 6, and ODP and OCP at age 7. Structural equation modeling revealed: (a) a direct and an indirect effect via punitive parenting from ISCI to ODP, (b) an indirect effect from FI to ODP via irritability and serially via both irritability and punitive parenting, (c) a direct effect from ISCI to OCP, and (d) a direct and an indirect effect from FI to OCP via irritability. Deficits in FI are present in both problems, and irritability is a mediating factor between flexibility and ODP and OCP that may help to understand the comorbidity of these problems.
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Executive functions ; Flexibility ; Irritability ; Obsessive-compulsive disorder ; Oppositional defiant disorder
Published in:	Current Psychology (New Brunswick, N.j.), Vol. 45 (2026) , art. 135, ISSN 1936-4733

DOI: 10.1007/s12144-025-08596-z

12 p, 1.2 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Research group Epidemiology and Diagnosis in Psychopathology of Development (UED)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles