Irritability and parenting practices as mediators between executive functions and oppositional and obsessive-compulsive problems in preschool children

Oppositional defiant disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder can co-occur in some children yet the factors that contribute to this comorbidity have not been thoroughly examined. We examined prospective associations between executive functions, namely Inhibitory Self-Control (ISCI) and Flexibility (FI), and oppositional defiant problems (ODP) and obsessive-compulsive problems (OCP) through irritability and parenting practices. The sample included 622 preschoolers from the community. Using questionnaires, teachers assessed children’s executive functions at age 3, and parents reported irritability at age 4, parenting practices at age 6, and ODP and OCP at age 7. Structural equation modeling revealed: (a) a direct and an indirect effect via punitive parenting from ISCI to ODP, (b) an indirect effect from FI to ODP via irritability and serially via both irritability and punitive parenting, (c) a direct effect from ISCI to OCP, and (d) a direct and an indirect effect from FI to OCP via irritability. Deficits in FI are present in both problems, and irritability is a mediating factor between flexibility and ODP and OCP that may help to understand the comorbidity of these problems.