Cold executive functions moderate the relationship between hot executive function and externalizing behavior in adolescents and adults

Abstract

Objective: Although deficits in executive functions (EFs) have been shown to characterize individuals who exhibit externalizing behavior problems, few studies have differentiated between the influence of hot and cold EF on externalizing behavior. This study tests whether there is an interaction between performance on assessments of cold and hot EF in relation to externalizing behavior in a community sample of adolescents and adults.

Method: Analyses were conducted on 396 adolescents (M_age = 14.81 years) and 393 of their parents (M_age = 45.39 years). Cold and hot EFs were assessed in both groups using a battery of neuropsychological tests, alongside externalizing behavior in both adolescents and their parents using a variety of self-report and parent-report questionnaires.

Results: A significant Hot EF × Cold EF interaction was found in both samples, such that adolescents and adults with increased risk taking on a hot EF task, but higher cold EF scores exhibited lower levels of externalizing behavior. Adults with reduced performance on both hot and cold EF tasks exhibited the highest levels of externalizing behavior.

Conclusions: Both hot and cold EFs contribute to the propensity for externalizing behavior. Results show that in the presence of increased risky decision making, which is a domain of hot EF, higher cold EF acts as a protective factor against externalizing behavior. Notably, this is observed in both adolescents and adults. Findings point to the possibility of targeting deficits in cold EF in interventions to reduce externalizing behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).