Chunk #39 — Results — Question 2: Is Our Behaviorally Based Construct of Disinhibition Meaningfully Related to Laboratory-Based Measures of Response Inhibition?
Results show that our model fits were good, χ2(540, N = 293) = 808.54, p < .001, RMSEA = .058, for age 12, and λ2(540, N = 293) = 822.13, p < .001, RMSEA = .059, for age 17. At age 12, behavioral disinhibition significantly correlated −.47 with response inhibition, −.27 with working memory updating, and −.20 with task-set shifting (all ps < .001). The correlation with response inhibition was significantly larger than the correlation with the other two executive functions, both Δχ2s(1) > 6.46, ps < .02. At age 17, behavioral disinhibition also significantly correlated with response inhibition (−.39), working memory updating (−.18), and task-set shifting (−.17). Again, the correlation with response inhibition was significantly larger than the correlation with working memory updating and task-set shifting, both Δχ2(1)s > 6.67, ps < .01. Taken together, these results indicate that response inhibition shows discriminant validity as a component of executive control and is more closely related to behavioral disinhibition than the other two executive functions examined. When only response inhibition and behavioral disinhibition were included in the models, the correlations changed slightly to −.44 at age 12 and −.41 at age 17.
