In plain language
Teenagers’ behaviour problems come in two broad forms: internalizing problems (depression, anxiety, social withdrawal) and externalizing problems (aggression, opposition, hyperactivity-inattention). The two often co-occur, but researchers have long disagreed about how they influence each other over time. Does one problem feed the other, creating a vicious cycle? Or do they suppress one another, with a rise in one predicting a later drop in the other? And do these dynamics work the same way for adolescents with low cognitive abilities, who tend to show higher levels of both kinds of problems?
This study followed matched samples of 138 adolescents with low cognitive abilities and 556 adolescents with average-to-high cognitive abilities across three yearly waves (Grades 8–10). Rather than relying on the teenagers’ own reports, the researchers used teacher ratings, which focus on observable behaviour and are less prone to memory and self-consistency biases. Careful measurement testing showed the ratings meant the same thing across time and across the two ability groups, making the comparisons trustworthy.
Both types of problems were highly stable from year to year, and adolescents with low cognitive abilities showed higher levels of both. The central result was that internalizing and externalizing behaviours showed negative reciprocal relationships over time: higher levels of one problem predicted decreases in the other a year later — mutual suppression rather than a mutually reinforcing spiral. This pattern replicated in both ability groups, suggesting the same developmental dynamics operate regardless of cognitive ability, and it cautions clinicians that treating one class of problems in isolation may have complex knock-on effects on the other.
Key findings
- Teacher-rated internalizing and externalizing behaviours were tracked over three waves (Grades 8–10) in matched samples of 138 adolescents with low cognitive abilities and 556 with average-to-high cognitive abilities.
- The measurement structure was fully equivalent across time and across ability groups, supporting meaningful comparisons.
- Both internalizing and externalizing behaviours showed high developmental stability across adolescence, with moderately high cross-sectional associations between them.
- Adolescents with low cognitive abilities showed higher levels of both internalizing and externalizing behaviours than peers with average-to-high cognitive abilities.
- Predictive analyses revealed negative reciprocal (mutually suppressing) longitudinal relationships: each type of problem predicted decreases over time in the other.
- This mutual-suppression pattern replicated in both the low and average-to-high cognitive ability samples, suggesting the same dynamics generalize across ability levels.
How to cite
APA
Morin, A. J. S., Arens, A. K., Maïano, C., Ciarrochi, J., Tracey, D., Parker, P. D., & Craven, R. G. (2017). Reciprocal relationships between teacher ratings of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in adolescents with different levels of cognitive abilities. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46, 801–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0574-3
BibTeX
@article{morin2017reciprocal,
author = {Morin, Alexandre J. S. and Arens, A. Katrin and Ma{\"i}ano, Christophe and Ciarrochi, Joseph and Tracey, Danielle and Parker, Philip D. and Craven, Rhonda G.},
title = {Reciprocal Relationships between Teacher Ratings of Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Adolescents with Different Levels of Cognitive Abilities},
journal = {Journal of Youth and Adolescence},
year = {2017},
volume = {46},
pages = {801--825},
doi = {10.1007/s10964-016-0574-3}
}
Related work
- All publications by Joseph Ciarrochi (searchable, with free PDFs)
- Process-Based Therapy & Idionomic Analysis
Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.