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Wu T, Weiland C, McCormick M, Hsueh J, Snow C, Sachs J. One Score to Rule Them All? Comparing the Predictive and Concurrent Validity of 30 Hearts and Flowers Scoring Approaches. Assessment 2024:10731911241229566. [PMID: 38361250 DOI: 10.1177/10731911241229566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
The Hearts and Flowers (H&F) task is a computerized executive functioning (EF) assessment that has been used to measure EF from early childhood to adulthood. It provides data on accuracy and reaction time (RT) across three different task blocks (hearts, flowers, and mixed). However, there is a lack of consensus in the field on how to score the task that makes it difficult to interpret findings across studies. The current study, which includes a demographically diverse population of kindergarteners from Boston Public Schools (N = 946), compares the predictive and concurrent validity of 30 ways of scoring H&F, each with a different combination of accuracy, RT, and task block(s). Our exploratory results provide evidence supporting the use of a two-vector average score based on Zelazo et al.'s approach of adding accuracy and RT scores together only after individuals pass a certain accuracy threshold. Findings have implications for scoring future tablet-based developmental assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Catherine Snow
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Guerra G, Tierney A, Tijms J, Vaessen A, Bonte M, Dick F. Attentional modulation of neural sound tracking in children with and without dyslexia. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13420. [PMID: 37350014 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13420] [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] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Auditory selective attention forms an important foundation of children's learning by enabling the prioritisation and encoding of relevant stimuli. It may also influence reading development, which relies on metalinguistic skills including the awareness of the sound structure of spoken language. Reports of attentional impairments and speech perception difficulties in noisy environments in dyslexic readers are also suggestive of the putative contribution of auditory attention to reading development. To date, it is unclear whether non-speech selective attention and its underlying neural mechanisms are impaired in children with dyslexia and to which extent these deficits relate to individual reading and speech perception abilities in suboptimal listening conditions. In this EEG study, we assessed non-speech sustained auditory selective attention in 106 7-to-12-year-old children with and without dyslexia. Children attended to one of two tone streams, detecting occasional sequence repeats in the attended stream, and performed a speech-in-speech perception task. Results show that when children directed their attention to one stream, inter-trial-phase-coherence at the attended rate increased in fronto-central sites; this, in turn, was associated with better target detection. Behavioural and neural indices of attention did not systematically differ as a function of dyslexia diagnosis. However, behavioural indices of attention did explain individual differences in reading fluency and speech-in-speech perception abilities: both these skills were impaired in dyslexic readers. Taken together, our results show that children with dyslexia do not show group-level auditory attention deficits but these deficits may represent a risk for developing reading impairments and problems with speech perception in complex acoustic environments. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Non-speech sustained auditory selective attention modulates EEG phase coherence in children with/without dyslexia Children with dyslexia show difficulties in speech-in-speech perception Attention relates to dyslexic readers' speech-in-speech perception and reading skills Dyslexia diagnosis is not linked to behavioural/EEG indices of auditory attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Guerra
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center and Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Adam Tierney
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK
| | - Jurgen Tijms
- RID, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Rudolf Berlin Center, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Milene Bonte
- Maastricht Brain Imaging Center and Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Frederic Dick
- Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, UCL, London, UK
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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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Why do early mathematics skills predict later mathematics and reading achievement? The role of executive function. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 214:105306. [PMID: 34655996 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A robust association between young children's early mathematical proficiency and later academic achievement is well established. Less is known about the mechanisms through which early mathematics skills may contribute to later mathematics and especially reading achievement. Using a parallel multiple mediator model, the current study investigated whether executive function (integration of working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) can explain the relations between early mathematics skills and elementary school mathematics and reading achievement. Data in this longitudinal study were collected from 243 children during the last year of early childhood education and care (kindergarten ages 5 and 6 years), 1 year later in first grade, and 5 years later when the children were in fifth grade. Background variables (maternal education, age, sex, and immigrant status), kindergarten baseline skills, and mediating effects of first-grade mathematics, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and possible omitted variables were controlled. Results showed that first-grade executive function mediated the effects of kindergarten mathematics on fifth-grade mathematics and on reading achievement. These findings suggest that executive function may work as a mechanism that may help to explain the frequently found strong association between children's early mathematics skills and later mathematics and reading achievement.
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Tonér S, Kallioinen P, Lacerda F. Selective Auditory Attention Associated With Language Skills but Not With Executive Functions in Swedish Preschoolers. Front Psychol 2021; 12:664501. [PMID: 34079498 PMCID: PMC8165184 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Associations between language and executive functions (EFs) are well-established but previous work has often focused more on EFs than on language. To further clarify the language-EF relationship, we assessed several aspects of language and EFs in 431 Swedish children aged 4-6, including selective auditory attention which was measured in an event-related potential paradigm. We also investigated potential associations to age, socioeconomic status (SES), bi-/multilingualism, sex and aspects of preschool attendance and quality. Language and EFs correlated weakly to moderately, indicating that relying on measures of vocabulary alone may overestimate the strength of the language-EF relationship. Contrary to predictions, we found no correlations between selective attention and EFs. There were however correlations between morphosyntactic accuracy and selective auditory attention which is in line with previous work and suggests a specific link between morphosyntax and the ability to suppress irrelevant stimuli. In Sweden, socioeconomic differences are rather small and preschool is universally available, but nevertheless, aspects of parental SES predicted children's performance on all measures. Bi-/multilingual children performed lower on language also when controlling for SES, highlighting the need for interventions to reduce inequalities in educational outcomes already in preschool. A female advantage was found for both language and EFs, whereas preschool attendance and quality were not significantly related to outcome measures. Future work should include longitudinal studies of language and EF development, include children from diverse SES backgrounds and contribute toward a theoretical framework that further clarifies the language-EF relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Signe Tonér
- Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Mauer E, Zhou Q, Uchikoshi Y. A Longitudinal Study on Bidirectional Relations between Executive Functions and English Word-Level Reading in Chinese American Children in Immigrant Families. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021; 86:101976. [PMID: 33679112 PMCID: PMC7935035 DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.101976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
This two-wave (1.5 years apart) longitudinal study examined the bidirectional relations between measures of executive function (EF; working memory, attention focusing, inhibitory control, and a comprehensive EF measure) and two types of English word-level reading (pseudoword reading and word reading) among 258 school-aged children (52.6% boys, age = 5.8-9.1 years, in 1st to 3rd grades at Wave 1) from Chinese American immigrant families. Cross-lagged panel analyses were conducted to test whether the four EF measures and English word-level reading proficiency predicted one another controlling for prior levels of EF or word reading, as well as demographic characteristics and children's English and Chinese language proficiency. We found a positive bidirectional association between the comprehensive EF measure and pseudoword reading. By contrast, although the comprehensive EF measure positively predicted word reading over time, word reading did not predict comprehensive EF. Additionally, both word reading and pseudoword reading positively predicted working memory over time. The results provided partial evidence that English word-level reading is bidirectionally related to EF among early elementary school-age dual language learners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezra Mauer
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Qing Zhou
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Yuuko Uchikoshi
- Graduate School of Education, University of California, Davis
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Gejl AK, Malling ASB, Damsgaard L, Veber-Nielsen AM, Wienecke J. Motor-enriched learning for improving pre-reading and word recognition skills in preschool children aged 5-6 years - study protocol for the PLAYMORE randomized controlled trial. BMC Pediatr 2021; 21:2. [PMID: 33397297 PMCID: PMC7780667 DOI: 10.1186/s12887-020-02430-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Results from previous studies suggest that bodily movements, spanning from gestures to whole-body movements, integrated into academic lessons may benefit academic learning. However, only few studies have investigated the effects of movement integrated into reading practice. The PLAYMORE study aims to investigate the effects of two interventions focusing on a close and meaningful coupling between bodily movement and academic content on early pre-reading and word recognition skills in children. Further, the study aims to compare two interventions involving either hand movements (i.e. using arms and hands) or whole-body movements (i.e. using the whole body). Potential mediating factors underlying the link between bodily movement on early pre-reading and word recognition skills will be explored. Methods/design The PLAYMORE study will be conducted as a three-armed randomized controlled trial including children aged five to six years recruited from four schools in the Copenhagen area, Denmark. Stratified by class, children will be randomly allocated to one of three 8-week intervention/control periods: 1) teaching involving whole-body movements, 2) teaching involving hand movements (i.e. arms and hands) or 3) teaching involving minimal motor movements (i.e. seated on a chair using paper and pencil). Outcome measurements, including pre-reading and word recognition skills, will be collected before and after the intervention period to assess the intervention effects. This study protocol follows the SPIRIT guidelines. Discussion The PLAYMORE study will add to the current knowledge concerning the link between bodily movement and academic performance with important details about pre-reading and word recognition skills in preschool children. If effective, evaluation of the implementation of the PLAYMORE program should be conducted in order to investigate whether the effects can be transferred into standard school settings. The PLAYMORE study will lay the foundation for future research that have the potential to inform the political and scientific debate and importantly, to provide teachers with detailed information of how to implement movements effectively during teaching in order to support and motivate children in the process of learning to read. Trial registration The study was retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04618822) the 5th of November 2020.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Kær Gejl
- Integrative Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre allé 51, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Anne Sofie Bøgh Malling
- Integrative Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre allé 51, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Linn Damsgaard
- Integrative Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre allé 51, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne-Mette Veber-Nielsen
- National Centre for Reading, University College Copenhagen, Humletorvet 3, 1799 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jacob Wienecke
- Integrative Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Nørre allé 51, 2200, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Lenes R, Gonzales CR, Størksen I, McClelland MM. Children's Self-Regulation in Norway and the United States: The Role of Mother's Education and Child Gender Across Cultural Contexts. Front Psychol 2020; 11:566208. [PMID: 33132970 PMCID: PMC7550693 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-regulation develops rapidly during the years before formal schooling, and it helps lay the foundation for children’s later social, academic, and educational outcomes. However, children’s self-regulation may be influenced by cultural contexts, sociodemographic factors, and characteristics of the child. The present study investigates whether children’s levels of self-regulation, as measured by the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) task, are the same in samples from Norway (Mage = 5.79; N = 243, 49.4% girls) and the United States (U.S.) (Mage = 5.65; N = 264, 50.8% girls) and whether the role of mother’s education level and child gender on children’s self-regulation differ across the two samples. Results showed that Norwegian and U.S. children had similar levels of self-regulation. Mother’s education level significantly predicted children’s self-regulation in the U.S. sample but not in the Norwegian sample, and this difference across samples was significant. Girls had a significantly higher level of self-regulation than boys in the Norwegian sample, but there were no gender differences in the U.S. sample. However, the effect of child gender on self-regulation did not differ significantly across the two samples. Results highlight the importance of cross-cultural studies of self-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ragnhild Lenes
- Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioural Research in Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
| | | | - Ingunn Størksen
- Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioural Research in Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Megan M McClelland
- Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
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Britton PN, Walker K, McMullan B, Galea C, Burrell R, Morgan B, Honan I, Teutsch S, Smithers-Sheedy H, Fairbairn N, Mattick R, Hutchinson D, Jones CA. Early Life Parechovirus Infection Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 3 Years: A Cohort Study. J Pediatr 2020; 219:111-117.e1. [PMID: 32005541 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the long-term developmental and behavioral outcomes in an established cohort of children hospitalized as infants with human parechovirus (HPeV) infection and sepsis-like illness. STUDY DESIGN The HPeV cohort was composed of children 3 years of age after HPeV infection and hospitalization in early infancy that occurred during a well-documented HPeV genotype 3 outbreak in Australia. We assessed neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III and the Child Behavior Checklist. We compared their outcomes with a subsample of healthy control infants drawn from the independently sampled Triple B Pregnancy Cohort Study. RESULTS Fifty children, with a mean age of 41 months, were followed for 3 years after hospital admission with HPeV infection. There were 47 children whose original illness was fever without source or sepsis-like illness and 3 who had encephalitis. All children in the HPeV cohort showed age-specific development within the population normal range on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III. There was no difference in developmental attainment compared with 107 healthy control infants after adjusting for measured confounders. The HPeV cohort showed higher average scores on the Child Behavior Checklist and a higher frequency of clinical range scores compared with healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS Although HPeV sepsis-like illness did not result in neurodevelopmental delay at 3 years of age, it was associated with increased behavioral problems compared with healthy controls. The behavioral problems reached a clinical threshold in a minority of children. Results inform clinical management and planning for children after severe HPeV infection in infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip N Britton
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Karen Walker
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Grace Centre for Newborn Intensive Care, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia; The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia
| | - Brendan McMullan
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia; School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Claire Galea
- Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Rebecca Burrell
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Bronte Morgan
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Ingrid Honan
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Suzy Teutsch
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Hayley Smithers-Sheedy
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Cerebral Palsy Alliance, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Natalie Fairbairn
- Grace Centre for Newborn Intensive Care, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia
| | - Richard Mattick
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Delyse Hutchinson
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Deakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Cheryl A Jones
- Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and Marie Bashir Institute Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, Australia; Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
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