Coupled Cognitive and Social Development From Childhood To Adolescence: Behavioral Problems Linked To Lower Levels and Less Social-Cognitive Integration

Cognitive skills tend to grow and change in interdependent ways across development, yet it remains unclear whether (a) early patterns of cognitive coupling depend on social-skill development and (b) whether individual differences in such coupling have predictive value for later behavioral outcomes. We addressed these questions using eight repeated assessments from the NICHD–SECCYD longitudinal study, tracking children from early childhood through adolescence. Using continuous-time structural equation models, we modelled dynamic, reciprocal interactions among cognitive (e.g., vocabulary, attention, memory, executive functioning) and social (e.g., assertion, cooperation, responsibility, self-control, peer competence) domains from age 4.5 to 15 years. Cognitive traits showed stronger overall growth and rank-order stability than social traits, whereas social-emotional skills displayed tighter internal coupling. Executive functioning emerged as a central connector across domains, showing robust cross-domain associations with multiple social skills. Children who exhibited more behavioral problems at age 15 had weaker early cross-domain trait correlations—particularly between (rather than within) cognitive and social domains—indicating lower early developmental integration. By adolescence, these children showed increased cohesion within the cognitive domain but reduced coupling with social traits, suggesting a shift toward domain-specific rather than integrated development. These findings highlight how early differences in the co-development of cognitive and social abilities may shape later behavioral adjustment, supporting a dynamic, systems-level view of developmental risk and adaptation.