Youth with conduct problems (CP) may be more likely to exhibit aggression in the context of peer relations. Indices of dorsolateral prefrontal cortical functioning (DPCF), such as inhibitory control and planning, may be implicated in the behavioral presentation of CP. Further, youth living in violent communities may be more likely to use aggression as a means for problem-solving. However, little is known about how CP interact with DPCF indices to predict aggressive behaviors specifically in the context of environments with high levels of community violence. As such, the present study sought to use a multi-informant approach to examine relations between CP, DCPF, and different types of aggression among youth living in neighborhoods affected by community violence.

Participants were 104 children (M=9.93±1.22 years; 50% male; 96% African American, 4% Latinx) who resided in neighborhoods with elevated rates of poverty and crime. DPCF was indexed by Stockings of Cambridge planning task and caregiver-reported inhibitory control from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Teachers completed the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-4R to assess youth conduct disorder (CD) symptoms and the Teacher Checklist to assess proactive (bullying, planful aggression) and reactive (angry, emotionally labile aggression) aggression.

Multiple regression analyses were conducted with aggressive behaviors as the dependent variable, and child sex, age, CD symptoms, and the CD × DPCF (i.e., CD × inhibitory control; CD × planning) interaction terms as predictors. Inhibitory control moderated the relation between CD symptoms and reactive (CD × inhibitory control, B = -1.39, p = .004) but not proactive (CD × inhibitory control, B = -.64, p = .063) aggression. Post-hoc probing of the CD symptoms × inhibitory control interaction term predicting reactive aggression revealed a significant slope for youth with both high (B = 1.65, p < .001) and low (B = 4.48, p < .001) levels of inhibitory control. Planning does not significantly moderate the relation between CD symptoms and proactive or reactive aggression, though there is a positive main effect of teacher reported CD symptoms on both proactive (B = 2.44, p < .001) and reactive (B = 2.36, p < .001) aggression.

This study is the first to consider the relations of CP, DPCF processes, and subtypes of aggression among youth living in environments with high rates of community violence. Among youth with CP, high levels of inhibitory control may be associated with lower rates of reactive aggression in the context of peer relations. As such, problem-solving interventions targeting processes related to DPCF, such as inhibitory control, may be useful among youth living in neighborhoods high in community violence who exhibit CP. Strengthening these cognitive processes may result in better behavioral outcomes and peer relations.