Demonstrating that what connects the components of behavioral disinhibition is genetic in nature is only the first step toward understanding underlying mechanisms that lead to this confluence of problems. In this study, we also examined whether deficits in executive functions represent one key set of such explanatory mechanisms. We focused particularly on response inhibition because it has been previously suggested as the component of executive function that is most conceptually linked to disinhibitory psychopathology (e.g., Barkley, 1997).
