Introduction

While peer delinquency is a known mediator between early pubertal timing and externalizing behaviors, little is known about factors that could protect against the adverse influence of peer delinquency. This study assesses the possible moderating role of cognitive flexibility, which is one index of executive functioning that facilitates flexible and adaptive responses to challenging situations. We assessed the interactive influence of peer delinquency and cognitive flexibility in the association between pubertal maturation and externalizing behaviors in boys and girls.

Method

Participants were 220 adolescents (111 boys) from the United States, between the ages of 11 and 16 years (M = 13.2, SD = 1.53) who participated in the Adolescent Emotion Study (AES).

Results

Findings from the cross-sectional path modeling analyses provided evidence for the mediating role of peer delinquency for boys and girls, indicating that early maturing adolescents tend to affiliate with delinquent peers, which in turn exacerbates externalizing problems. Additionally, the moderating role of cognitive flexibility was also demonstrated for both boys and girls. Region of significance tests revealed that relatively well-developed cognitive flexibility skills could protect against the adverse influences of peer delinquency, whereas lower levels could exacerbate those negative influences.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that involvement with deviant peers increases vulnerability for both early maturing boys and girls. Additionally, cognitive flexibility was an important moderating factor for adolescents, such that youths with less developed skills would be at a higher risk for psychopathology, whereas those with better development could be protected.

中文翻译：

---

青春期的早期成熟和外在行为：以同伴过失为中介，认知柔韧性为主持人。

介绍

尽管同龄人犯罪是早期青春期时机与外在行为之间的已知调解人，但对于可以防止同龄人犯罪的不利影响的因素知之甚少。这项研究评估了认知灵活性的可能调节作用，这是执行功能的一个指标，可促进对挑战性情况的灵活和适应性反应。我们评估了青春期成熟与男孩和女孩的外在行为之间的关联中同伴犯罪和认知灵活性的互动影响。

方法

参加者为来自美国的220名青少年（111名男孩），年龄在11至16岁之间（M  = 13.2，SD  = 1.53），他们参加了青少年情感研究（AES）。

结果

横断面路径模型分析的发现为男孩和女孩同龄人犯罪的中介作用提供了证据，表明早熟的青少年倾向于与犯罪同龄人结伴，从而加剧了外部化问题。此外，男孩和女孩的认知灵活性也发挥了调节作用。显着性区域测试显示，相对发达的认知柔韧性技能可以防止同龄人犯罪的不利影响，而较低的水平可能会加剧这些不利影响。

结论

这些发现表明，与异常同伴的参与增加了早熟男孩和女孩的脆弱性。另外，认知灵活性是青少年的重要调节因素，因此技能欠发达的青年人的心理病理风险较高，而发育良好的青年则可以得到保护。