The influence of neuropsychological deficits in early childhood on low self-control and misconduct through early adolescence Dylan B. Jackson a, ⁎, Kevin M. Beaver a,b a College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-1127, United States b King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia abstract article info Available online 15 June 2013 Purpose: Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) contend that low self-control is the result of parental management tech- niques. However, an emerging line of research has revealed that neuropsychological deficits influence the develop- ment of low self-control (Beaver, Wright, & Delisi, 2007; Cauffman, Steinberg, & Piquero, 2005). Nevertheless, these studies have largely tested the effects of neuropsychological deficits on low self-control cross-sectionally or in the short term. This study addresses an important void in the literature by examining the influence of neuropsycholog- ical deficits in early childhood on levels of self-control and misconduct through early adolescence. Methods: Data come from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Kindergarten (ECLS-K), the largest nationally representative sample of U.S. children. Results: We found that deficits in neuropsychological functioning during kindergarten were consistently predictive of lower levels of self-control during the third, fifth, and eighth grade as well as higher levels of conduct problems during the eighth grade. These effects remained significant after accounting for demographic variables, features of the neighborhood, and a number of parenting variables. Conclusions: Neuropsychological deficits during early childhood play an important role in the development of low self-control through early adolescence and misconduct during early adolescence. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime posits that individuals with low levels of self-control will be more prone to engage in crime and analogous behaviors than persons with compar- atively higher levels of self-control. The theory also proposes that children cultivate self-control as a result of their parents’ ability to mon- itor them and consistently recognize and punish misdeeds. Empirical tests have generally lent support to the tenets of the theory and have buttressed the dominant view that self-control is the product of social influences, including parenting behaviors (Antonaccio & Tittle, 2008; Burt, Simons, & Simons, 2006; Hay, 2001; Pratt & Cullen, 2000; Pratt, Turner, & Piquero, 2004; Turner, Piquero, & Pratt, 2005). However, these studies have largely failed to consider the possibility that self-control might be at least partially driven by factors with an important genetic component, such as neuropsychological functioning (Meyer-Lindenberg et al., 2006; Raine, 2008; Toga & Thompson, 2005). Recent research has begun to address this void in the literature by examining the role of neuropsychological and genetic factors in the formation of self-control (Beaver, Delisi, Vaughn, & Wright, 2010; Beaver, Ratchford, & Ferguson, 2009; Beaver, Wright, & Delisi, 2007; Cauffman, Steinberg, & Piquero, 2005; Wright & Beaver, 2005). An emerging line of this research has uncovered a link between deficits in particular brain functions and the capacity for self-control (Beaver et al., 2010; Cauffman et al., 2005; Ratchford & Beaver, 2009). These studies have examined the link between proxy measures of impaired prefrontal functioning (i.e. neuropsychological deficits) and various indicators of self-control. Similarly, brain imaging research, which uses a variety of techniques such as fMRI and PET scans, has indi- cated that the prefrontal cortex of the brain plays an important role in the ability to sustain attention, plan, self-monitor, and inhibit inap- propriate behaviors (Figner et al., 2010; Ishikawa & Raine, 2003; Raine, 2002; Raine, 2008). Researchers in neuropsychology and related fields refer to these interconnected abilities collectively as “executive functions” (Damasio, 1994; Goldberg, 2001). The concept of executive functions put forth by these researchers is surprisingly similar to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) concept of low self-control, which em- phasizes an impulsive, risk-seeking, and short-sighted disposition. Con- sequently, a growing number of criminologists have begun to integrate neuropsychological measures of prefrontal functioning into the empir- ical study of self-control (Beaver et al., 2007; Cauffman et al., 2005; Ratchford & Beaver, 2009). This bourgeoning line of research has pro- vided initial support for the argument that self-control represents an important component of an array of capacities housed in the frontal lobes of the brain (see also Figner et al., 2010). Although this research is supportive of the link between executive functions and levels of self-control, much of the research has only Journal of Criminal Justice 41 (2013) 243–251 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 626 825 4856. E-mail address: dbj09@fsu.edu (D.B. Jackson). 0047-2352/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2013.05.002 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Criminal Justice