The aforementioned findings on EC and externalizing problems have implications for parenting and interventions. Our findings support the conclusion that change in EC is related to change in borderline or clinical levels of externalizing problems. Because EC is likely more malleable than impulsivity and modulates the expression of impulsivity, interventions designed to reduce externalizing problems can benefit from attempts to foster EC (for an example, see Riggs, Greenberg, Kusche, & Pentz, 2006). Moreover, executive functioning, which is involved in EC, has been linked with the responsiveness to interventions for school readiness and appears to mediate the effects of interventions on school readiness, including social competence and aggression (Bierman, Nix, Greenburg, Blair, & Domitrovich, 2008). Thus, initial levels of EC may affect the extent of change in EC and, in turn, in related socially competent behavior and aggression.
