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Niu T, Wang S, Ma J, Zeng X, Xue R. Executive functions in children with developmental language disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1390987. [PMID: 39188807 PMCID: PMC11345193 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1390987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The purpose of the current study was to assess the differences between children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and typically developing (TD) children in their performance of executive functions from working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Methods We performed a systematical search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science for case control studies (published in English between January 1, 1950, and October 11, 2023) comparing the differences in the performance of executive functions between DLD and TD children. Results Forty eligible studies were included in the present study (N = 3,168 participants). In comparison with TD children, DLD children exhibited significantly poorer performances in all six verbal working memory tasks (backward digit recall task, SMD -1.4321, 95% CI -2.2692 to -0.5950; listening recall task, SMD -1.4469, 95% CI -1.7737 to -1.1202; counting recall task, SMD -0.9192, 95% CI -1.4089 to -0.4295; digit recall task, SMD -1.2321, 95% CI -1.4397 to -1.0244; word list recall task, SMD -1.1375, 95% CI -1.5579 to -0.7171; non-word recall task, SMD -1.5355, 95% CI -1.8122 to -1.2589). However, regarding inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, the differences between DLD and TD children depended on specific circumstances. In subgroup analyses of all verbal working memory tasks, DLD children presented notably lower performance than TD children in both the monolingual English and monolingual non-English groups, and in both the preschooler and school-aged groups. Conclusion This study proves that verbal working memory deficits can be seen as a marker for children with DLD and are not affected by age or language type. Systematic Review Registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=391070, CRD42023391070.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tengfei Niu
- Department of Basic Courses, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, China
| | - Shiqiang Wang
- Department of Neuro-Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Jingxi Ma
- Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Neurology, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoping Zeng
- Department of Rehabilitation, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, China
| | - Ruiling Xue
- Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Rehabilitation, Chongqing General Hospital, Chongqing, China
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Mauer E, Mak E, Uchikoshi Y, Luo R, Zhou Q. Cognitive Distancing Language in Parent-Child Book Sharing Among Low-Income Mexican American and Chinese American Families: Cultural Group Comparisons and Links to Children's Executive Functions. EARLY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2024; 35:1374-1393. [PMID: 39071863 PMCID: PMC11271250 DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2024.2366696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Research Findings In the context of parent-child book sharing, cultural influences on cognitive distancing language and its associations with child executive function (EF) have been understudied. This study examined cultural group similarities/differences in parent and child book-sharing distancing language among preschool-aged dual language learners from low-income Mexican American (MA) and Chinese American (CA) families. We further tested concurrent relations between parent/child distancing language and children's EF. The sample consisted of 88 children (45 MAs, 43 CAs, age = 38-68 months) enrolled in Head Start preschools and their parents. To assess distancing language, utterances were coded for cognitive demand and classified as referential (low demand), behavioral (moderate demand), or inferential (high demand). Cognitive tasks tapping inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility were used to assess child EF. Results showed parents and children from both cultural groups produced comparable numbers of story-related utterances. MA dyads used higher proportions of parent/child inferential statements and a lower proportion of parent referential questions. The proportions of parent behavioral questions and child behavioral statements were positively related to child cognitive flexibility. Practice or Policy Findings highlight heterogeneity in parent-child verbal interactions among low-income multilingual families and have implications for promoting preschoolers' cognitive/language development in diverse populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezra Mauer
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Emily Mak
- School of Education, University of California, Davis
| | - Yuuko Uchikoshi
- School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University
| | - Rufan Luo
- School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University
| | - Qing Zhou
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
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Shapiro ALB, Lawless MC, Charlifue-Smith R, Johnson SL. Complementary food exposure and children's early understanding of food words: the approaching eating through language (APPEAL) study. Front Nutr 2024; 11:1237698. [PMID: 38863587 PMCID: PMC11165136 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1237698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Language skills, such as the ability to understand words (receptive language), develop during infancy and are built through interactions with the environment, including eating. Exposure to complementary foods also begins in infancy and may play a significant role in language development, especially in understanding of food-related words. However, the relationship between the complementary foods to which a child is exposed and early language acquisition has not been previously studied. We hypothesized that young children's food-related receptive language (FRL) would reflect the complementary foods to which they were frequently offered by caregivers. Methods Caregivers of young children (4-26 months; n = 408) in the Approaching Eating through Language (APPEAL) Study in the US were surveyed via Qualtrics. FRL was assessed by caregiver-report via a modified MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Complementary foods offered (CFO) by caregivers were assessed using a modified Food Frequency Questionnaire. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was implemented to identify, 1) groupings of foods frequently offered (>1x/week) and 2) groupings of food-related words understood by the young children. Results A 5-class best fit LCA model was identified for CFO (-log likelihood [-llik]=-8727) and for FRL (-llik=-5476). Cross-classification of the CFO and FRL derived classes revealed that children with higher exposure to complementary foods were perceived by caregivers to be most likely to also understand a greater number of food-related words (Probability=0.48). As expected, children having been offered a greater number of complementary foods and who understood a greater number of food-related words were older, compared to those with less complementary food exposure and food-related language acquisition (p < 0.001). Discussion These findings support the potential role of introduction to complementary foods in development of food-related language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison L. B. Shapiro
- Section of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Megan C. Lawless
- Section of Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Renee Charlifue-Smith
- JFK Partners, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
| | - Susan L. Johnson
- Section of Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States
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Likhitweerawong N, Boonchooduang N, Khorana J, Phinyo P, Patumanond J, Louthrenoo O. Executive dysfunction as a possible mediator for the association between excessive screen time and problematic behaviors in preschoolers. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0298189. [PMID: 38574024 PMCID: PMC10994291 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Excessive screen time in children is a growing concern for parents and healthcare providers worldwide because it frequently leads to behavioral problems. Although executive dysfunction is proposed to be one of the contributing factors to maladaptive behaviors, little is known about the link between screen time and behaviors. This study aimed to identify whether executive dysfunction contributes to the negative behaviors of children exposed to excessive screen time. A cross-sectional study was conducted on preschool-aged children from public and private schools in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The parents/guardians of each child completed the questionnaires regarding clinical characteristics and screen time use, the Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Function-Preschool (BRIEF-P), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Children with more than one hour of media exposure per day were considered to have excessive screen time. Multivariable Gaussian regression was analyzed to compare the BRIEF-P and SDQ scores between the excessive and appropriate screen time groups. Causal mediation analysis was performed to examine the effects of total screen time on increasing behavioral problems with executive functioning as a mediator. A total of 1,126 preschoolers were included in the analyses. After controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and maternal education, the excessive screen time group had significantly higher BRIEF-P global executive composite score than the appropriate screen time group (mean difference of global executive composite score = 1.49, 95% CI [0.12, 2.86], and p = 0.033). Concurrently, there were significant differences in externalizing behavior subscales and SDQ total difficulties scores between the excessive and appropriate screen time groups (mean difference of total difficulties score = 0.90, 95% CI [0.29, 1.50], and p = 0.004). A significant average causal mediation effect (ACME) of screen time on behavioral problems mediated through executive functioning was β = 0.28, 95% CI [0.13-0.44], which was more than half of the total effect (54.9%, 95% CI [37.4-100%]). The current study suggests that the increase in behavioral issues in preschoolers might be partly explained by the direct effect of excessive screen time and the mediating effect of impaired executive functioning. Our results may raise concerns about the necessity to limit screen time and monitor for executive function deficits and behavioral problems in young children with high screen time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narueporn Likhitweerawong
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Growth and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Nonglak Boonchooduang
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Growth and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Jiraporn Khorana
- Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Statistics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Clinical Surgical Research Center, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Phichayut Phinyo
- Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Statistics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Jayanton Patumanond
- Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Statistics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Orawan Louthrenoo
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Growth and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Van den Akker A, Leijten P, Hoffenaar P, Gardner F. Using Daily Diary Assessments to Better Understand the Role of Parental Consistency in the Development of Externalizing Child Behavior. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024; 52:79-92. [PMID: 37204642 PMCID: PMC10787874 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01073-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Consistent discipline is thought to reduce early child externalizing behavior. It is unclear, however, whether consistency is important mainly within episodes of misbehavior (e.g., threatening with discipline but then giving in) or across episodes of misbehavior (e.g., disciplining each instance of misbehavior). Using a daily diary approach, we examine whether these two types of consistency are associated with disruptive child behavior, concurrently and prospectively. We included two samples (Sample 1: N = 134, Magechild = 30 months, 44% girls; Sample 2: N = 149, Magechild = 5.88 years; 46% girls, at-risk sample) with daily reports of child disruptive behavior and parental responses (Sample 1 = 7 days; Sample 2 = 14 days). Sample 1 parents additionally reported on their reactions over the past month and their child's externalizing behavior one year later. Within-episode consistency was assessed by the average number of parental reactions per episode; across-episode consistency by the Index of Qualitative Variation; and general consistency by parents' report of how they had responded to child disruptive behavior in the past month. In both samples correlations between within- and across-episode consistency were significant, but not so strong that they were not differentiated. Again in both samples, regression analyses provided evidence for unique predictive value of across-episode, not within-episode, consistency for daily disruptive behavior. Parental general consistency was longitudinally associated with fewer externalizing problems, whereas within- and across-episode consistency were not. It appears meaningful to differentiate within- from across-episode consistency to better understand the relevance of different aspects of consistency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alithe Van den Akker
- University of Amsterdam, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Patty Leijten
- University of Amsterdam, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Hoffenaar
- University of Amsterdam, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Frances Gardner
- Oxford University, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, Oxford, UK
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Bruce M, Savla J, Bell MA. From terrible twos to sassy sixes: The development of vocabulary and executive functioning across early childhood. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13396. [PMID: 37042169 PMCID: PMC10567994 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Across the early childhood period of development, young children exhibit considerable growth in their executive functioning (EF) and vocabulary abilities. Understanding the developmental trajectory of these seemingly interrelated processes is important as both early vocabulary and EF have been shown to predict critical academic and socio-emotional outcomes later in childhood. Although previous research suggests that EF and vocabulary are correlated in early childhood, much of the existing longitudinal research has focused on unidirectional relations among preschool child samples. The current large-scale study, therefore, sought to examine whether children's vocabulary and EF abilities are bidirectionally related over time across four measurement waves in early childhood (i.e., at ages 2, 3, 4, and 6). At each timepoint, children's vocabulary skills were positively correlated with their concurrent EF abilities. After controlling for child sex and maternal education status, the best-fitting, cross-lagged panel model was a unidirectional model whereby children's early vocabulary scores predicted their later EF performance at each timepoint. Although age 2 EF significantly predicted age 3 vocabulary size, this association was no longer significant after accounting for maternal education status. Our results illustrate that vocabulary size plays an important role in predicting children's later EF performance across various timepoints in early childhood, even after controlling for children's initial EF scores. These findings have important implications for intervention research as fostering early vocabulary acquisition may serve as a possible avenue for improving EF outcomes in young children. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Children's vocabulary size is positively correlated with their concurrent executive functioning skill at ages 2, 3, 4, and 6 Young children's early vocabulary scores predict their later EF performance across measurement waves, even after controlling for initial EF skill There is stability in children's relative vocabulary size and executive functioning performance over time in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Bruce
- Virginia Tech, Department of Psychology, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Jyoti Savla
- Virginia Tech, Department of Human Development & Family Science, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Martha Ann Bell
- Virginia Tech, Department of Psychology, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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Everaert E, Boerma T, Selten I, Gerrits E, Houben M, Vorstman J, Wijnen F. Nonverbal Executive Functioning in Relation to Vocabulary and Morphosyntax in Preschool Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:3954-3973. [PMID: 37713541 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Developmental language disorder (DLD) is characterized by persistent and unexplained difficulties in language development. Accumulating evidence shows that children with DLD also present with deficits in other cognitive domains, such as executive functioning (EF). There is an ongoing debate on whether exclusively verbal EF abilities are impaired in children with DLD or whether nonverbal EF is also impaired, and whether these EF impairments are related to their language difficulties. The aims of this study were to (a) compare nonverbal performance of preschoolers with DLD and typically developing (TD) peers, (b) examine how nonverbal EF and language abilities are related, and (c) investigate whether a diagnosis of DLD moderates the relationship between EF and language abilities. METHOD A total of 143 children (nDLD = 65, nTD = 78) participated. All children were between 3 and 6.5 years old and were monolingual Dutch. We assessed nonverbal EF with a visual selective attention task, a visuospatial short-term and working memory task, and a task gauging broad EF abilities. Vocabulary and morphosyntax were each measured with two standardized language tests. We created latent variables for EF, vocabulary, and morphosyntax. RESULTS Analyses showed that children with DLD were outperformed by their TD peers on all nonverbal EF tasks. Nonverbal EF abilities were related to morphosyntactic abilities in both groups, whereas a relationship between vocabulary and EF skills was found in the TD group only. These relationships were not significantly moderated by a diagnosis of DLD. CONCLUSIONS We found evidence for nonverbal EF impairments in preschool children with DLD. Moreover, nonverbal EF and morphosyntactic abilities were significantly related in these children. These findings may have implications for intervention and support the improvement of prognostic accuracy. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24121287.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Everaert
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, the Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Tessel Boerma
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, the Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Iris Selten
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, the Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ellen Gerrits
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, the Netherlands
- Research Group Speech and Language Therapy: Participation Through Communication, HU University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Michiel Houben
- Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jacob Vorstman
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, Research Institute, and Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Frank Wijnen
- Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, the Netherlands
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Lee C, Jessop A, Bidgood A, Peter MS, Pine JM, Rowland CF, Durrant S. How executive functioning, sentence processing, and vocabulary are related at 3 years of age. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 233:105693. [PMID: 37207474 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating that executive function (EF) abilities are positively associated with language development during the preschool years, such that children with good executive functions also have larger vocabularies. However, why this is the case remains to be discovered. In this study, we focused on the hypothesis that sentence processing abilities mediate the association between EF skills and receptive vocabulary knowledge, in that the speed of language acquisition is at least partially dependent on a child's processing ability, which is itself dependent on executive control. We tested this hypothesis in longitudinal data from a cohort of 3- and 4-year-old children at three age points (37, 43, and 49 months). We found evidence, consistent with previous research, for a significant association between three EF skills (cognitive flexibility, working memory [as measured by the Backward Digit Span], and inhibition) and receptive vocabulary knowledge across this age range. However, only one of the tested sentence processing abilities (the ability to maintain multiple possible referents in mind) significantly mediated this relationship and only for one of the tested EFs (inhibition). The results suggest that children who are better able to inhibit incorrect responses are also better able to maintain multiple possible referents in mind while a sentence unfolds, a sophisticated sentence processing ability that may facilitate vocabulary learning from complex input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal Lee
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Andrew Jessop
- Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK
| | - Amy Bidgood
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Michelle S Peter
- North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London WC1N 3BH, UK
| | - Julian M Pine
- Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK
| | - Caroline F Rowland
- Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK; Language Development Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Centre for Cognition, Radboud University, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Samantha Durrant
- School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
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Zhou J, Guo W, Ren H. Subjective social status and health among older adults in China: the longitudinal mediating role of social trust. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:630. [PMID: 37013502 PMCID: PMC10068244 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15523-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND From a developmental perspective, this study explored the interplays between subjective social status (SSS), social trust (ST), and health status measured by self-rated health (SRH) among older adults in the context of China. It also tested the longitudinal mediation of ST between SSS and SRH. METHODS After excluding samples with missing values, we analyzed 4,877 individual responses from those aged 60 years or older, extracted from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data in 2014, 2016, and 2018. We used latent growth modeling to test the hypothesized relationships among their SSS, ST, and SRH. RESULTS Latent growth modeling based on bootstrapping showed that the SSS, ST, and SRH of older adults all increased linearly and that the mechanism of SSS acted on the SRH as follows: the initial level of SSS indirectly influenced the initial level and the growth rate of the SRH, respectively, through the initial level of ST, and the initial level and growth rate of SSS played an indirect role in the growth rate of the SRH through the growth rate of ST. CONCLUSION The findings have practical implications for promoting health for older adults and realizing active aging in China. Therefore, we recommend establishing a family-centered and community-supported social support system for those with lower social status among older adults and a friendly community environment with various social, cultural, and recreational activities to improve the ST among older adults, thereby improving their health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zhou
- School of Sociology and Population Studies, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Guo
- Department of Social Work and Social Policy, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China.
- The Centre for Asia-Pacific Development Studies, Nanjing University, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hang Ren
- Institute of Population Studies, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, 210042, People's Republic of China
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Clark-Whitney E, Melzi G. Executive Function and Narrative Language Abilities in Emergent Bilingual Preschoolers: An Exploratory Study. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2023; 54:584-599. [PMID: 36930879 DOI: 10.1044/2022_lshss-21-00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE In light of the importance of preschool oral narrative skills as precursors to literacy, this exploratory study examined expressive language skills among emergent bilingual Latine preschoolers using a naturalistic personal narrative task. To understand the factors that support language use in the personal narrative context for this population, we examined the contribution of children's executive function (EF) skills to their narrative language abilities. METHOD Children completed two subtests from the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment to measure EF and produced two personal narratives in response to conversational prompts. A series of linear regressions were used to evaluate the relation between children's EF skills and their narrative production ability, narrative organization, and expressive language skills derived from automated analyses of narrative samples. RESULTS EF was found to predict children's ability to produce a personal narrative but not the language skills children demonstrated in these narratives. CONCLUSIONS The current findings suggest that EF is implicated in emergent bilingual Latine children's narrative abilities. At the preschool age, the contribution of EF to narrative language production is apparent in the global task of producing a narrative, rather than in the organizational or linguistic features of the narrative. As such, supporting both EF and narrative skills might be an important means of facilitating preliteracy among bilingual children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gigliana Melzi
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, NY
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11
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Dimachkie Nunnally A, Baczewski L, Sterrett K, Holbrook A, Kaiser A, Kasari C. Profiles and trajectories of executive functioning in young children with Down syndrome. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH : JIDR 2023; 67:254-270. [PMID: 36642763 DOI: 10.1111/jir.13008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Language acquisition strongly predicts executive functioning (EF) in early childhood in typical development and in children with Down syndrome (DS). Both language and EF are critical contributors to later positive social and academic outcomes yet are often areas of concern in children with DS. Despite the wider availability of interventions targeting language development in DS, no efforts have been made to understand how these interventions may influence the development of EF in this population. METHODS This study examined secondary data from 76 preschoolers with DS collected as part of a randomised waitlist control trial of an early social communication intervention (JASPER-EMT). Children's EF skills were measured using the BRIEF-P, at three timepoints over 6 months. Linear regression was used to examine the baseline relationship between child characteristics and the three indices of the BRIEF-P: Emergent Metacognition, Flexibility and Inhibitory Self-Control. Linear mixed effects models were used to estimate change across the three indices of the BRIEF-P and whether that change was moderated by treatment. RESULTS Children in this sample exhibited an uneven profile of EF at baseline, with relative strengths in the Flexibility Index and the Inhibitory Self-Control Index, and relative weaknesses in the Emerging Metacognition Index. Chronological age was associated with all indices at baseline (all P < 0.05). Children in the intervention group exhibited improvements in the Flexibility Index from entry to exit (3 months later) compared with the control, although this treatment effect did not maintain at the follow up at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS Baseline EF profiles of children were consistent with findings of other studies with children with DS. Longitudinal findings suggest that behavioural interventions targeting language may have positive collateral effects on certain EF skills, however these effects may be transitory without ongoing support. These findings illustrate both the need for further exploration of the impact of early language interventions on EF abilities and the malleability of certain EF domains in young children with DS.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - L Baczewski
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - K Sterrett
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - A Holbrook
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - A Kaiser
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - C Kasari
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Ribner AD, Ahmed SF, Miller-Cotto D, Ellis A. The role of executive function in shaping the longitudinal stability of math achievement during early elementary grades. EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH QUARTERLY 2023; 64:84-93. [PMID: 36937227 PMCID: PMC10019360 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
There is substantial rank-order stability in children's mathematical skills throughout development. Research has shown that children who enter school with relatively low math skills are unlikely to catch up to peers who begin kindergarten with more developed math skills. Emerging evidence suggests that children's executive function skills might play an important role in shaping the rate and stability of mathematical skill development during early development. Therefore in the present study, we used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort 2010-11-a prospective sample of over 18,000 children in the United States-to examine executive function as an antecedent to characteristics of growth in math skills and to test whether executive function moderates the longitudinal stability of math achievement from kindergarten through second grade. Latent growth curve models reveal that executive function is related to not only the level of math skills at school entry but also to the rate of growth in early elementary years. Moreover, we found that executive function moderated the stability of math achievement from kindergarten to second grade, suggesting that early executive function skills can serve as a compensatory mechanism for children who enter school with lower levels of mathematical skills. These findings might have important implications for narrowing gaps in math achievement during early elementary school.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D. Ribner
- University of Pittsburgh, Learning Research and Development Center
| | - Sammy F. Ahmed
- Michigan State University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies
| | | | - Alexa Ellis
- Purdue University, Department of Human Development and Family Studies
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13
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Profiles of early family environments and the growth of executive function: Maternal sensitivity as a protective factor. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:314-331. [PMID: 34581262 PMCID: PMC9119582 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We identified family risk profiles at 6 months using socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal mental health indicators with data from the Family Life Project (N = 1,292). We related profiles to executive function (EF) at 36 months (intercept) and growth in EF between 36 and 60 months. Latent profile analysis revealed five distinct profiles, characterized by different combinations of SES and maternal mental health symptoms. Maternal sensitivity predicted faster growth in EF among children in the profile characterized by deep poverty and the absence of maternal mental health symptoms. Maternal sensitivity also predicted higher EF intercept but slower EF growth among children in the profile characterized by deep poverty and maternal mental health symptoms, and children in the near poor (low SES), mentally healthy profile. Maternal sensitivity also predicted higher EF intercept but had no effect on growth in EF in the near poor, mentally distressed profile. In contrast, maternal sensitivity did not predict the intercept or growth of EF in the privileged SES/mentally healthy profile. Our findings using a person-centered approach provide a more nuanced understanding of the role of maternal sensitivity in the growth of EF, such that maternal sensitivity may differentially affect the growth of EF in various contexts.
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Chen J, Zhao Y, Xu X, Liu J, Deng C. Predictive relations between executive function and Mandarin vocabulary ability among Uyghur-Mandarin bilingual preschoolers. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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15
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Linking early maternal input during shared reading to later theory of mind through receptive language and executive function: A within- and between-family design. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 223:105469. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Slawny C, Crespo K, Weismer SE, Kaushanskaya M. Social-Pragmatic Skills and Length of Bilingualism Predict Inhibitory Control in Children. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:3873-3880. [PMID: 36170591 PMCID: PMC9927631 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-21-00625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE There is conflicting evidence regarding effects of bilingualism on inhibition, and the mechanisms that might underlie the effects remain unclear. A prominent account views additional demands on structural language use in bilinguals as being at the root of bilingual effects on inhibition. In this study, we tested the novel hypothesis that social-pragmatic skills (alone or together with structural language skills) are associated with inhibition in bilingual children. METHOD Parents of 114 typically developing 8- to 11-year-old Spanish-English bilingual children completed the Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition to index social pragmatics and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function to index executive functioning skills. The Inhibit clinical scale score reflected children's inhibition. Children's language ability was indexed by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition in English and Spanish. Length of bilingualism was operationalized continuously as the length of time children had been exposed to both languages in their lifetime. Moderation analyses tested the effects of structural language, social-pragmatic skills, and length of bilingual experience, and their interactions on inhibition. RESULTS While structural language skills were not associated with inhibition, they moderated the relation between social-pragmatic skills and inhibition, such that children with better social-pragmatic skills demonstrated better inhibition, and this effect was stronger for children with better structural language skills. Furthermore, longer length of bilingual experience was associated with better inhibition, and this effect was not moderated by any other predictor. CONCLUSION These results confirm a graded relationship between bilingualism and inhibition, and indicate that this association is not qualified by structural language or social-pragmatic skills. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21183916.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlyn Slawny
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | - Kimberly Crespo
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | - Susan Ellis Weismer
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
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Romeo RR, Flournoy JC, McLaughlin KA, Lengua LJ. Language development as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status to executive functioning development in preschool. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13227. [PMID: 34981872 PMCID: PMC9250946 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is related to disparities in the development of both language and executive functioning (EF) skills. Emerging evidence suggests that language development may precede and provide necessary scaffolding for EF development in early childhood. The present preregistered study investigates how these skills co-develop longitudinally in early childhood and whether language development explains the relationship between SES and EF development. A socioeconomically diverse sample of 305 children completed repeated assessments of language (sentence comprehension) and EF (cognitive flexibility, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive inhibition) at four waves spaced 9 months apart from ages 3 to 5 years. Bivariate latent curve models with structured residuals were estimated to disaggregate between-person and within-person components of stability and change. Results revealed bidirectional relationships between language and EF across all waves. However, at 3 years, language comprehension more strongly predicted EF than the reverse; yet by 5 years, the bidirectional effects across domains did not significantly differ. Children from higher-SES backgrounds exhibited higher initial language and EF skills than children from lower-SES families, though SES was not associated with either rate of growth. Finally, early language-mediated the association between SES and early EF skills, and this model outperformed a reverse direction mediation. Together, results suggest that EF development is driven by early language development, and that SES disparities in EF are explained, at least in part, by early differences in language comprehension. These findings have implications for early interventions to support children's language skills as a potential pathway to improving early EF development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel R Romeo
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - John C Flournoy
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Katie A McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Liliana J Lengua
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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18
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Suffill E, Schonberg C, Vlach HA, Lupyan G. Children's knowledge of superordinate words predicts subsequent inductive reasoning. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 221:105449. [PMID: 35550281 PMCID: PMC10078766 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Children's early language knowledge-typically assessed using standardized word comprehension tests or through parental reports-has been positively linked to a variety of later outcomes, from reasoning tests to academic performance to income and health. To better understand the mechanisms behind these links, we examined whether knowledge of certain "seed words"-words with high inductive potential-is positively associated with inductive reasoning. This hypothesis stems from prior work on the effects of language on categorization suggesting that certain words may be important for helping people to deploy categorical hypotheses. Using a longitudinal design, we assessed 36 2- to 4-year-old children's knowledge of 333 words of varying levels of generality (e.g., toy vs. pinwheel, number vs. five). We predicted that adjusting for overall vocabulary, knowledge of more general words (e.g., toy, number) would predict children's performance on inductive reasoning tasks administered 6 months later (i.e., a subset of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales for Early Childhood-Fifth Edition [SB-5] and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities [WJ] concept formation tasks). This prediction was confirmed for one of the measures of inductive reasoning (i.e., the SB-5 but not the WJ) and notably for the task considered to be less reliant on language. Although our experimental design demonstrates only a correlational relationship between seed word knowledge and inductive reasoning ability, our results are consistent with the possibility that early knowledge of certain seed words facilitates performance on putatively nonverbal reasoning tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellise Suffill
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1010, Austria.
| | - Christina Schonberg
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Haley A Vlach
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Gary Lupyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Bruce M, Bell MA. Vocabulary and Executive Functioning: A Scoping Review of the Unidirectional and Bidirectional Associations across Early Childhood. Hum Dev 2022; 66:167-187. [PMID: 36164662 PMCID: PMC9501766 DOI: 10.1159/000524964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Early childhood marks a time where word learning is accompanied by rapid growth in the cognitive processes that underlie self-modulated and goal-directed behavior (i.e., executive functions). Although there is empirical evidence to support the association between executive functioning and vocabulary in childhood, inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the extent to which early executive functioning abilities predict later vocabulary outcomes and vice versa. To clarify the nature of the longitudinal relation between these two processes and to examine what, if any, claims can be made about their interdependence, a critical review of the literature was conducted. Also addressed are the conceptual and/or methodological differences that exist across studies conducted on this topic that may be contributing to some of the discrepancies reported in the longitudinal literature. Finally, this review provides practical and empirically informed future directions to serve as a resource for early childhood researchers advancing this area of study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Bruce
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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20
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Shokrkon A, Nicoladis E. The Directionality of the Relationship Between Executive Functions and Language Skills: A Literature Review. Front Psychol 2022; 13:848696. [PMID: 35928417 PMCID: PMC9343615 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.848696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that executive functions play a significant role in different aspects of the development of children. Development of language is also one of the most important accomplishments of the preschool years, and it has been linked to many outcomes in life. Despite substantial research demonstrating the association between executive function and language development in childhood, only a handful of studies have examined the direction of the developmental pathways between EF skills and language skills, therefore little is known about how these two constructs are connected. In this review paper, we discuss three possible directional relationships between EFs and language development throughout childhood. First, we discuss how EF might affect language functioning. Next, we discuss how language functioning might affect EF. Lastly, we consider other possible relationships between EF and language. Given that children with better EF and language skills are more likely to succeed in educational settings and demonstrate greater social–emotional competencies, investigating the relationship between EF and language in the preschool period provides insight into mechanisms that have not been extensively studied. Furthermore, it could create new opportunities for designing effective and efficient interventions aimed at addressing EF and language deficits during the preschool period which could in turn influence later development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anahita Shokrkon
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- *Correspondence: Anahita Shokrkon,
| | - Elena Nicoladis
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
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21
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Hofkens TL, Whittaker J, Pianta RC, Vitiello V, Ruzek E, Ansari A. Pathways of mathematics achievement in preschool: Examining executive function and task orientation. JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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22
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Nieto M, Motos B, Navarro B, Jimeno MV, Fernández‐Aguilar L, Ros L, Ricarte JJ, Latorre JM. Relation between nighttime sleep duration and executive functioning in a nonclinical sample of preschool children. Scand J Psychol 2022; 63:191-198. [DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Nieto
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - Beatriz Motos
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - Beatriz Navarro
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - María V. Jimeno
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
- School of Law University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - Luz Fernández‐Aguilar
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - Laura Ros
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - Jorge J. Ricarte
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
| | - Jose M. Latorre
- Department of Psychology University of Castilla La Mancha Albacete Spain
- Applied Cognitive Psychology Unit University of Castilla‐La Mancha Albacete Spain
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23
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Scheiber FA, Ryckman KK, Demir-Lira ÖE. Maternal depressive symptoms and maternal child-directed speech: A systematic review. J Affect Disord 2022; 297:194-207. [PMID: 34656673 PMCID: PMC8827171 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Up to 1 in 5 children are exposed to maternal depressive symptoms. Children exposed to maternal depressive symptoms have poorer language skills than children not exposed to maternal depressive symptoms. Due to the crucial role of children's language skills in school readiness and academic achievement, it is imperative to understand the factors that underlie the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children's language skills. Previous reviews have examined the mechanistic role of social-pragmatic features of mother-child interactions. However, the literature on the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and data-providing aspects of mother-child interactions, including child-directed speech, has yet to be consolidated. In this systematic review, we present maternal child-directed speech as a potential pathway through which maternal depressive symptoms influence children's language skills. METHODS Following PRISMA guidelines, three database searches produced 546 articles related to maternal depressive symptoms, child-directed speech, and children's language skills, ten of which examined the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and child-directed speech. RESULTS Findings revealed that increases in maternal depressive symptoms may be associated with decreases in amount of child-directed speech but not necessarily with decreases in the complexity of child-directed speech. LIMITATIONS The studies in this review varied in sample size, the inclusion of important sociodemographic factors, and the operationalization of depression and child-directed speech, thereby limiting conclusions, especially about whether maternal depressive symptoms are associated with the complexity of child-directed speech. CONCLUSIONS This review has implications for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at optimizing children's language skills; child-directed speech is modifiable, and mothers experiencing depressive symptoms may benefit from resources encouraging rich child-directed speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca A Scheiber
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, PBSB 340 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
| | - Kelli K Ryckman
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health,University of Iowa, 145N Riverside Dr., Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
| | - Ö Ece Demir-Lira
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, PBSB 340 Iowa Avenue, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; DeLTA Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
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24
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Relationship between Pre-Schoolers’ self-regulation, language, and early academic skills: The mediating role of self-regulation and moderating role of gender. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01699-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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25
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Salwei AM, de Diego-Lázaro B. Does Language Make a Difference? A Study of Language Dominance and Inhibitory Control. Front Psychol 2021; 12:648100. [PMID: 34393890 PMCID: PMC8358122 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Although extensive research has been done to compare monolingual and bilingual children’s executive function, there are fewer studies that look at the relation between bilingual children’s languages and executive function. The purpose of this study was two-fold; first, to compare inhibitory control (executive function) in monolingual and bilingual children and second, to determine what vocabulary measure (dominant vs. non-dominant language) was related to inhibitory control in bilingual children. Twenty monolingual (English) and 20 bilingual (English-Spanish) children between the ages of 8 and 12 completed a vocabulary test (in English and Spanish) and an inhibitory control task (the flanker task). Analysis of Covariances (ANCOVAs) revealed no significant differences between monolingual and bilingual children in reaction time (RT) or accuracy in the flanker task after controlling for maternal education. Partial correlations controlling for age showed that English expressive vocabulary (dominant language), but not Spanish, was positively correlated with inhibitory control (larger vocabulary and better inhibitory control), suggesting that bilingual children may use their dominant language to self-regulate over their non-dominant language, increasing the inhibitory control associated to the dominant language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley Marie Salwei
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, United States
| | - Beatriz de Diego-Lázaro
- Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, United States
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26
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Gago Galvagno LG, Miller SE, De Grandis C, Elgier AM. Emerging coherence and relations to communication among executive function tasks in toddlers: Evidence from a Latin American sample. INFANCY 2021; 26:962-979. [PMID: 34237203 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent work within early executive function (EF) seems to suggest that toddlers show distinct patterns of development, involving poorly correlated performance across EF tasks and significant improvements over relatively short periods of time. The present study sought to extend these findings by investigating evidence for these patterns in toddlers and the existence of more traditional patterns of EF (e.g., correlations between tasks, links to language) when using the same tasks in a novel Latin American sample. Eighty toddlers (18-24 months) and sixty young preschoolers (30-36) months completed a battery of EF tasks, early social communication, and receptive and expressive language measures. Results indicated that toddlers showed similar distinct patterns of development (i.e., few relations between tasks and links to responding to joint attention), but by early preschool a more cohesive EF and links to language were present. Further, work demonstrated significant age (older children outperformed younger children), gender (girls outperformed boys), and socioeconomic differences (satisfied basic needs outperformed unsatisfied basic needs, but only on the snack delay). This work provides evidence for patterns of emerging EF development within this novel cultural sample (and evidence for group differences) that may be supported by communicative and representational development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas G Gago Galvagno
- Facultad de Psicología y Relaciones Humanas, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Cognición y Políticas Públicas, Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Stephanie E Miller
- Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA
| | - Carolina De Grandis
- Facultad de Psicología y Relaciones Humanas, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Cognición y Políticas Públicas, Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Angel M Elgier
- Facultad de Psicología y Relaciones Humanas, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Cognición y Políticas Públicas, Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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27
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Haft SL, Gys CL, Bunge S, Uchikoshi Y, Zhou Q. Home Language Environment and Executive Functions in Mexican American and Chinese American Preschoolers in Head Start. EARLY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2021; 33:608-633. [PMID: 35600115 PMCID: PMC9119586 DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2021.1912548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Research Findings Using two groups of dual language learners (DLLs), the current study examined links between two developmental constructs closely linked to school readiness: the home language environment (HLE) and executive function (EF). In a sample of 90 children (age range = 38-70 months, 59% girls) from either Mexican American (MA, N = 46) or Chinese American (CA, N = 44) low-income families enrolled in Head Start preschool programs, parents reported on their HLE (home language balance, home English/heritage language activities) and children's EF (inhibitory control and attention shifting) was measured by cognitive tasks. Findings showed preschool-aged DLLs in low-income immigrant families received more heritage language exposure relative to English language exposure at home. Several demographic variables (parental education, per capita income, DLL group, child age of English acquisition, child generation, child English receptive vocabulary) were related to various aspects of HLE. Controlling for covariates, the amount of heritage language activities at home was uniquely and positively related to children's attention shifting. Practice or Policy The findings underscore the importance of incorporating language background considerations when designing intervention programs that target HLE and EF in low-income DLLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Haft
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Christopher L Gys
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Silvia Bunge
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Yuuko Uchikoshi
- School of Education, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Qing Zhou
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
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28
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Ertanir B, Kaiser-Kratzmann J, Sachse S. Long-term interrelations between socio-emotional and language competencies among preschool dual language learners in Germany. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 91:735-754. [PMID: 33314070 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent research has shown that socio-emotional and language competencies are positively associated with each other. However, few studies have explored these associations for the second language competencies (L2) of young dual language learners (DLLs). AIMS This longitudinal study investigated possible bidirectional associations between L2 language (expressive and receptive vocabulary) and socio-emotional competencies among preschool DLLs. SAMPLE The participants were 216 German DLLs (MT1 = 52.67 months; SD = 9.54; 53% girls) who were recruited from 19 preschools. METHOD L2 skills were assessed at three time points over the course of one year using standardized tests for expressive and receptive vocabulary. Children's teachers rated their socio-emotional strengths and behaviour concerns. Cross-lagged panel analyses were used to examine the temporal interplay and longitudinal directionality of effects controlling for children's age, sex, type of language acquisition (sequential vs. simultaneous), and socio-economic status. RESULTS Vocabulary skills and socio-emotional skills were positively correlated with one another at each time point, such that children with better language proficiency were rated by their teachers as children with higher levels of socio-emotional competence. Moreover, our results provided support for an effect of early socio-emotional skills (T1) on the relative increase in L2 vocabulary skills (T2 & T3), particularly for expressive vocabulary. However, our results did not demonstrate a statistically significant effect of better L2 language skills on the relative change in socio-emotional competencies. CONCLUSION Our results suggest unidirectional longitudinal relations between the socio-emotional and L2 skills, signifying the role of socio-emotional skills for the vocabulary development of DLLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beyhan Ertanir
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Heidelberg University of Education, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Germany.,Institute Research and Development, School of Education, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Windisch, Switzerland
| | - Jens Kaiser-Kratzmann
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, Germany
| | - Steffi Sachse
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Heidelberg University of Education, Germany
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Choo AL, Smith SA, Li H. Associations between stuttering, comorbid conditions and executive function in children: a population-based study. BMC Psychol 2020; 8:113. [PMID: 33129350 PMCID: PMC7603732 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-020-00481-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between executive function (EF), stuttering, and comorbidity by examining children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) with and without comorbid conditions. Data from the National Health Interview Survey were used to examine behavioral manifestations of EF, such as inattention and self-regulation, in CWS and CWNS. Methods The sample included 2258 CWS (girls = 638, boys = 1620), and 117,725 CWNS (girls = 57,512; boys = 60,213). EF, and the presence of stuttering and comorbid conditions were based on parent report. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution of stuttering and comorbidity across group and sex. Regression analyses were to determine the effects of stuttering and comorbidity on EF, and the relationship between EF and socioemotional competence. Results Results point to weaker EF in CWS compared to CWNS. Also, having comorbid conditions was also associated with weaker EF. CWS with comorbidity showed the weakest EF compared to CWNS with and without comorbidity, and CWS without comorbidity. Children with stronger EF showed higher socioemotional competence. A majority (60.32%) of CWS had at least one other comorbid condition in addition to stuttering. Boys who stutter were more likely to have comorbid conditions compared to girls who stutter. Conclusion Present findings suggest that comorbidity is a common feature in CWS. Stuttering and comorbid conditions negatively impact EF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Leen Choo
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Georgia State University, 30 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.
| | - Sara Ashley Smith
- Department of Teaching and Learning, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Hongli Li
- Department of Educational Policy Studies, Georgia State University, 30 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA
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30
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Ramsook KA, Welsh JA, Bierman KL. What you say, and how you say it: Preschoolers' growth in vocabulary and communication skills differentially predict kindergarten academic achievement and self-regulation. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2020; 29:783-800. [PMID: 33041538 DOI: 10.1111/sode.12425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The idea that language skills support school readiness, predicting later self-regulation and academic success, is widely accepted. Although vocabulary is often emphasized in the developmental literature, the ability to use language appropriately in the classroom, or social communication skills, may also be critical. This paper examined longitudinal contributions of children's vocabulary and social communication skills, from preschool to kindergarten, to kindergarten academic achievement (reading and math) and self-regulation (executive functions and learning behaviors). Participants were 164 children (14% Latinx, 30% Black, 56% White; 57% girls) enrolled in Head Start programs. Results revealed that initial levels and growth in vocabulary and communication skills predicted better academic achievement. Social communication skills uniquely predicted self-regulation, after accounting for vocabulary. We discuss potential mechanisms for these links and recommend that strategies to build social communication skills be incorporated in preschool interventions promoting school readiness.
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31
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Blom E, Boerma T. Do Children With Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Have Difficulties With Interference Control, Visuospatial Working Memory, and Selective Attention? Developmental Patterns and the Role of Severity and Persistence of DLD. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:3036-3050. [PMID: 32924889 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have weaknesses in executive functioning (EF), specifically in tasks testing interference control and working memory. It is unknown how EF develops in children with DLD, if EF abilities are related to DLD severity and persistence, and if EF weaknesses expand to selective attention. This study aimed to address these gaps. Method Data from 78 children with DLD and 39 typically developing (TD) children were collected at three times with 1-year intervals. At Time 1, the children were 5 or 6 years old. Flanker, Dot Matrix, and Sky Search tasks tested interference control, visuospatial working memory, and selective attention, respectively. DLD severity was based on children's language ability. DLD persistence was based on stability of the DLD diagnosis. Results Performance on all tasks improved in both groups. TD children outperformed children with DLD on interference control. No differences were found for visuospatial working memory and selective attention. An interference control gap between the DLD and TD groups emerged between Time 1 and Time 2. Severity and persistence of DLD were related to interference control and working memory; the impact on working memory was stronger. Selective attention was unrelated to DLD severity and persistence. Conclusions Age and DLD severity and persistence determine whether or not children with DLD show EF weaknesses. Interference control is most clearly impaired in children with DLD who are 6 years and older. Visuospatial working memory is impaired in children with severe and persistent DLD. Selective attention is spared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elma Blom
- Department of Special Education: Cognitive and Motor Disabilities, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
| | - Tessel Boerma
- Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
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32
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Nook EC, Stavish CM, Sasse SF, Lambert HK, Mair P, McLaughlin KA, Somerville LH. Charting the development of emotion comprehension and abstraction from childhood to adulthood using observer-rated and linguistic measures. Emotion 2020; 20:773-792. [PMID: 31192665 PMCID: PMC6908774 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This study examined two facets of emotion development: emotion word comprehension (knowing the meaning of emotion words such as "anger" or "excitement") and emotion concept abstraction (representing emotions in terms of internal psychological states that generalize across situations). Using a novel emotion vocabulary assessment, we captured how a cross-sectional sample of participants aged 4-25 (N = 196) defined 24 emotions. Smoothing spline regression models suggested that emotion comprehension followed an emergent shape: Knowledge of emotion words increased across childhood and plateaued around age 11. Human coders rated the abstractness of participants' responses, and these ratings also followed an emergent shape but plateaued significantly later than comprehension, around age 18. An automated linguistic analysis of abstractness supported coders' perceptions of increased abstractness across age. Finally, coders assessed the definitional strategies participants used to describe emotions. Young children tended to describe emotions using concrete strategies such as providing example situations that evoked those emotions or by referring to physiological markers of emotional experiences. Whereas use of these concrete strategies decreased with age, the tendency to use more abstract strategies such as providing general definitions that delineated the causes and characteristics of emotions or by providing synonyms of emotion words increased with age. Overall, this work (a) provides a tool for assessing definitions of emotion terms, (b) demonstrates that emotion concept abstraction increases across age, and (c) suggests that adolescence is a period in which emotion words are comprehended but their level of abstraction continues to mature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Nguyen TQ, Del Tufo SN, Cutting LE. Readers Recruit Executive Functions to Self-Correct Miscues During Oral Reading Fluency. SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF READING : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF READING 2020; 24:462-483. [PMID: 33716490 PMCID: PMC7954224 DOI: 10.1080/10888438.2020.1720025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Reading fluency undoubtedly underlies reading competence; yet, the role of executive functions (EF) is less well understood. Here, we investigated the relationship between children's reading fluency and EF. Children's (n = 82) reading and language performance was determined by standardized assessments and EF by parental questionnaire. Results revealed that production of more miscues was explained by poorer reading and language performance and EF. Yet, self-correcting a miscue was predicted by better EF, beyond reading and language abilities. Intriguingly, EF partially mediated the relationship between reading and self-correction, suggesting that self-correction reflects parallel recruitment and coordination of domain-specific and domain-general processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tin Q Nguyen
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Stephanie N Del Tufo
- College of Education and Human Development, University of Delaware, Newark, Tennessee, USA
| | - Laurie E. Cutting
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Goh SKY, Yang H, Tsotsi S, Qiu A, Chong YS, Tan KH, Pei-Chi LS, Broekman BFP, Rifkin-Graboi A. Mitigation of a Prospective Association Between Early Language Delay at Toddlerhood and ADHD Among Bilingual Preschoolers: Evidence from the GUSTO Cohort. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 48:511-523. [DOI: 10.1007/s10802-019-00607-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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35
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The influence of school assets on the development of well-being during early adolescence: Longitudinal mediating effect of intentional self-regulation. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA SINICA 2020. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1041.2020.00874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Doebel S, Michaelson LE, Munakata Y. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait: Delaying Gratification Likely Does Matter for Later Achievement (A Commentary on Watts, Duncan, & Quan, 2018). Psychol Sci 2019; 31:97-99. [PMID: 31850827 PMCID: PMC10152116 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619839045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yuko Munakata
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
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37
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Daneri MP, Blair C, Kuhn LJ. Maternal Language and Child Vocabulary Mediate Relations Between Socioeconomic Status and Executive Function During Early Childhood. Child Dev 2019; 90:2001-2018. [PMID: 29707764 PMCID: PMC6207477 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This article examined longitudinal relations among socioeconomic risk, maternal language input, child vocabulary, and child executive function (EF) in a large sample (N = 1,009) recruited for a prospective longitudinal study. Two measures of maternal language input derived from a parent-child picture book task, vocabulary diversity (VOCD), and language complexity, showed variation by socioeconomic risk at child ages 15, 24, and 36 months. Maternal VOCD at child age 24 months and maternal language complexity at child age 36 months mediated the relation between socioeconomic risk and 48-month child EF, independent of parenting sensitivity. Moreover, 36-month child vocabulary mediated the relation between maternal language input and child EF. These findings provide novel evidence about mechanisms linking socioeconomic risk and child executive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Paula Daneri
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Laura J. Kuhn
- FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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38
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Rosen ML, Amso D, McLaughlin KA. The role of the visual association cortex in scaffolding prefrontal cortex development: A novel mechanism linking socioeconomic status and executive function. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 39:100699. [PMID: 31446376 PMCID: PMC6783336 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with executive function (EF) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) development. However, understanding of the specific aspects of SES that influence development of EF and the PFC remains limited. We briefly review existing literature on proposed mechanisms linking SES with EF. Then, we present a novel conceptual model arguing that early cognitive stimulation shapes EF and PFC development. We propose that cognitive stimulation drives lower-level sensory and perceptual processes that may impact EF and PFC development through reciprocal connections between the ventral visual stream and PFC. We argue that caregivers guide attention and associative learning, which provides children the opportunity to regulate attention and gain semantic knowledge. This experience in turn allows for opportunities to train the PFC to resolve conflict between stimuli with overlapping features and engage in increasingly complex computations as visual processing systems develop; this may lay the groundwork for development of EF. We review existing evidence for this model and end by highlighting how this conceptual model could launch future research questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya L Rosen
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, United States; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States.
| | - Dima Amso
- Cognitive, Linguistics, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
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Schmitt SA, Purpura DJ, Elicker JG. Predictive links among vocabulary, mathematical language, and executive functioning in preschoolers. J Exp Child Psychol 2019; 180:55-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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40
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Jones A, Atkinson J, Marshall C, Botting N, St Clair MC, Morgan G. Expressive Vocabulary Predicts Nonverbal Executive Function: A 2-year Longitudinal Study of Deaf and Hearing Children. Child Dev 2019; 91:e400-e414. [PMID: 30740665 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies suggest an association between language and executive function (EF), but evidence of a developmental relationship remains inconclusive. Data were collected from 75 deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) children and 82 hearing age-matched controls. Children were 6-11 years old at first time of testing and completed a battery of nonverbal EF tasks and a test of expressive vocabulary. These tasks were completed again 2 years later. Both groups improved their scores on all tasks over this period. DHH children performed significantly less well than hearing peers on some EF tasks and the vocabulary test at both time points. Cross-lagged panel models showed that vocabulary at Time 1 predicted change in EF scores for both DHH and hearing children but not the reverse.
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41
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Hanno E, Surrain S. The Direct and Indirect Relations Between Self-Regulation and Language Development Among Monolinguals and Dual Language Learners. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2019; 22:75-89. [DOI: 10.1007/s10567-019-00283-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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42
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Gangopadhyay I, Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M. Domain-general inhibition and lexical processing in monolingual and bilingual children: A longitudinal approach. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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43
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Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M, Larson C, Mathée J, Bolt D. Executive Function Skills in School-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Association With Language Abilities. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2018; 61:2641-2658. [PMID: 30418493 PMCID: PMC6693571 DOI: 10.1044/2018_jslhr-l-rsaut-18-0026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This article reviews research on executive function (EF) skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the relation between EF and language abilities. The current study assessed EF using nonverbal tasks of inhibition, shifting, and updating of working memory (WM) in school-age children with ASD. It also evaluated the association between children's receptive and expressive language abilities and EF performance. METHOD In this study, we sought to address variables that have contributed to inconsistencies in this area of research-including task issues, group comparisons, and participant heterogeneity. EF abilities in children with ASD (n = 48) were compared to typically developing controls (n = 71) matched on age, as well as when statistically controlling for group differences in nonverbal cognition, socioeconomic status, and social communication abilities. Six nonverbal EF tasks were administered-2 each to evaluate inhibition, shifting, and WM. Language abilities were assessed via a standardized language measure. Language-EF associations were examined for the ASD group as a whole and subdivided by language status. RESULTS Children with ASD exhibited significant deficits in all components of EF compared to age-mates and showed particular difficulty with shifting after accounting for group differences in nonverbal cognition. Controlling for social communication-a core deficit in ASD-eliminated group differences in EF performance. A modest association was observed between language (especially comprehension) and EF skills, with some evidence of different patterns between children on the autism spectrum with and without language impairment. CONCLUSIONS There is a need for future research to examine the direction of influence between EF and language. It would be beneficial for EF interventions with children with ASD to consider language outcomes and, conversely, to examine whether specific language training facilitates aspects of executive control in children on the autism spectrum. PRESENTATION VIDEO https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7298144.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Ellis Weismer
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | - Margarita Kaushanskaya
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | - Caroline Larson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | - Janine Mathée
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison
| | - Daniel Bolt
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison
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McKinnon RD, Blair C. Does early executive function predict teacher-child relationships from kindergarten to second grade? Dev Psychol 2018; 54:2053-2066. [PMID: 30211568 PMCID: PMC6202176 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Teacher-child relationships have been linked to children's classroom engagement and to academic achievement. However, researchers have paid minimal attention to individual child factors that predict the development of these relationships. In the current study, we examined executive function (EF) prior to school entry as a predictor of teacher-child relationships at kindergarten through second grade. We also examined externalizing behavior problems, verbal intelligence, and academic achievement as mediators of these associations. Data were from the Family Life Project, a prospective, longitudinal sample of N = 1,292 families from predominantly low-socioeconomic status (SES) and rural communities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Children were administered a multidimensional battery of EF when they were 48 months old and standardized measures of verbal intelligence and academic achievement at prekindergarten. Parents reported on externalizing behavior problems when children were 60 months old. Kindergarten, first-, and second-grade teachers reported on teacher-child relationships. Growth curve models revealed that EF at 48 months positively predicted closeness and negatively predicted conflict with teachers in kindergarten but not change in closeness or conflict over time. Verbal intelligence mediated the associations between EF and both closeness and conflict. EF continued to significantly predict conflict, but not closeness, with kindergarten teachers when the mediator was included in the model. The results of this study are discussed in the context of the implications of children's self-regulation for classroom engagement in a low-SES sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel D. McKinnon
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, 196 Mercer Street, 8 floor, New York, NY 10012
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, 196 Mercer Street, 8 floor, New York, NY 10012
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, 246 Green Street, Kimball Hall, 8 floor, New York, NY 10003
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Two-year-olds' executive functioning: The influence of task-specific vocabulary knowledge. Infant Behav Dev 2018; 53:33-42. [PMID: 30268336 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2018.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Although many executive function (EF) tasks require only nonverbal responses, the language used by experimenters to explain the task may be important for young children's EF task performance. This study investigated how the vocabulary used in explaining an EF task affects 2-year-olds' performance. Experiment 1 used the standard instructions for the Reverse Categorization Task, in which children are asked to sort different-sized blocks into different-sized buckets according to one rule and then switch to a new rule. In Experiment 2, the task remained the same, but different instructions requiring less knowledge of size words were used. Children's productive vocabulary was assessed in both experiments but was only correlated with task performance in Experiment 1. These results suggest that task-specific vocabulary knowledge may play a role in children's performance on tasks designed to measure nonverbal cognitive ability.
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46
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Pan J, Sawyer K, McDonough E, Slotpole L, Gansler D. Cognitive, Neuroanatomical, and Genetic Predictors of Executive Function in Healthy Children and Adolescents. Dev Neuropsychol 2018; 43:535-550. [PMID: 30216102 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1516770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) is a measure of cognitive flexibility for children, which requires rule-use and shifting. Demographic, cognitive, regional cortical thickness, and genetic variables, including those related to language and executive function, were used to build predictive models of DCCS scores in 556 healthy pediatric participants. Gender, age, frontal, and temporal lobe regions of interest, and measures of sustained attention, inhibition, and word reading were selected as the best predictors of DCCS performance. Results indicated that DCCS performance is related to a broad range of cognitive functions and anatomic regions associated with various levels of cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Pan
- a Department of Psychology , Suffolk University , Boston , MA , USA
| | - Kayle Sawyer
- b Boston VA Healthcare System , Boston , MA , USA.,c Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology , Boston University School of Medicine , Boston , MA , USA.,d Sawyer Scientific, LLC , Boston , MA , USA.,e Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging , Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston , MA , USA
| | - EmilyKate McDonough
- d Sawyer Scientific, LLC , Boston , MA , USA.,f Medical Education , Tufts University , Boston , MA , USA
| | - Laura Slotpole
- g Department of Psychology , Dickinson College , Carlisle , PA , USA
| | - David Gansler
- a Department of Psychology , Suffolk University , Boston , MA , USA
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Dealy J, Mudrick H, Robinson J. Children’s narrative story stem responses: Contributions of executive functioning and language proficiency to relationship representations. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Dealy
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies; University of Connecticut
| | - Hannah Mudrick
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies; Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg
| | - JoAnn Robinson
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies; University of Connecticut
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48
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Ntourou K, Anderson JD, Wagovich SA. Executive function and childhood stuttering: Parent ratings and evidence from a behavioral task. JOURNAL OF FLUENCY DISORDERS 2018; 56:18-32. [PMID: 29443692 PMCID: PMC5970042 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfludis.2017.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 11/28/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the executive function (EF) abilities of preschool children who do (CWS) and do not stutter (CWNS) using a parent-report questionnaire and a behavioral task. METHOD Participants were 75 CWS and 75 CWNS between the ages of 3;0 and 5;11 (years; months). Parents rated their children's EF abilities using the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P; Gioia, Espy, & Isquith, 2003). Children's ability to integrate cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory was measured using a behavioral task, the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS; Cameron Ponitz, McClelland, Matthews, & Morrison, 2009). RESULTS The CWS were judged by their parents as being less proficient in working memory, shift/flexibility, and overall EF than the parents of the CWNS. Children in the CWS group were also 2½ to 7 times more likely than children in the CWNS group to exhibit clinically significant difficulties with EF. Behavioral task findings revealed that 3-year old CWS performed more poorly than their peers on the HTKS. Parental ratings of executive function and working memory were significantly and moderately correlated with receptive and expressive vocabulary skills only for the CWNS group. CONCLUSION CWS have more difficulty with EF in everyday life and may experience early delays in their ability to integrate aspects of attention and EF compared to CWNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Ntourou
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States.
| | - Julie D Anderson
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
| | - Stacy A Wagovich
- Department of Communication Science and Disorders, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
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Lensing N, Elsner B. Development of hot and cool executive functions in middle childhood: Three-year growth curves of decision making and working memory updating. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 173:187-204. [PMID: 29734050 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Although middle childhood is an important period for the development of hot and cool executive functions (EFs), longitudinal studies investigating trajectories of childhood EF development are still limited and little is known about predictors for individual developmental trajectories. The current study examined the development of two typical facets of cool and hot EFs over a 3-year period during middle childhood, comparing a younger cohort (6- and 7-year-olds at the first wave [T1]; n = 621) and an older cohort (8- and 9-year-olds at T1; n = 975) of children. "Cool" working memory updating (WM) was assessed using a backward digit span task, and "hot" decision making (DM) was assessed using a child variant of the Iowa Gambling Task. Linear latent growth curve analyses revealed evidence for developmental growth as well as interindividual variance in the initial level and rate of change in both EF facets. Initial level of WM was positively associated with age (both between and within cohorts), socioeconomic status, verbal ability, and processing speed, whereas initial levels of DM were, in addition to a (potentially age-related) cohort effect, exclusively predicted by gender, with boys outperforming girls. None of the variables predicted the rate of change, that is, the developmental trajectories. However, younger children, as compared with older children, had slightly steeper WM growth curves over time, hinting at a leveling off in the development of WM during middle childhood. In sum, these data add important evidence to the understanding of hot and cool EF development during middle childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nele Lensing
- Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Birgit Elsner
- Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
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Salmon K, O'Kearney R, Reese E, Fortune CA. The Role of Language Skill in Child Psychopathology: Implications for Intervention in the Early Years. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2018; 19:352-367. [PMID: 27678011 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-016-0214-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In this narrative review, we suggest that children's language skill should be targeted in clinical interventions for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties in the preschool years. We propose that language skill predicts childhood emotional and behavioral problems and this relationship may be mediated by children's self-regulation and emotion understanding skills. In the first sections, we review recent high-quality longitudinal studies which together demonstrate that that children's early language skill predicts: (1) emotional and behavioral problems, and this relationship is stronger than the reverse pattern; (2) self-regulation skill; this pattern may be stronger than the reverse pattern but moderated by child age. Findings also suggest that self-regulation skill mediates the relation between early language skill and children's emotional and behavioral problems. There is insufficient evidence regarding the mediating role of emotion understanding. In subsequent sections, we review evidence demonstrating that: (1) particular kinds of developmentally targeted parent-child conversations play a vital role in the development of language skill, and (2) some current clinical interventions, directly or indirectly, have a beneficial impact on children's vocabulary and narrative skills, but most approaches are ad hoc. Targeting language via parent-child conversation has the potential to improve the outcomes of current clinical interventions in the preschool years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Salmon
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Parade, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand.
| | - Richard O'Kearney
- Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Elaine Reese
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Clare-Ann Fortune
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Parade, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand
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