Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Executive Function Among Preschool Children: Unitary Versus Distinct Abilities

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) are considered related but separable executive functions (EFs) among adults and adolescents. Although available evidence suggests that these constructs have not diverged, especially among younger preschool children, questions remain regarding the age at which separable factors emerge.This study used confirmatory factor analysis to test a 2-factor model of EF among 289 preschool children whose ages ranged from 45 to 63 months (M = 55.74, SD = 7.56). As hypothesized, the model including separate but related factors provided a significantly better fit than a unitary model, indicating the presence of distinct WM and IC factors. Based on evidence that WM and IC measured during preschool relate differently to a variety of academic and behavioral outcomes, it was hypothesized that a model including separate factors for each EF would fit the observed data better than a single-factor model. Although the two-factor model provided the best fit for the full sample, the correlation between WM and IC factors was significantly higher for younger (ϕ = .95) than older (ϕ = .68) children, indicating increasing divergence as a function of age.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Because OS had the lowest factor loading among the four WM tasks (.34, p < .001) and the WM factor accounted for less of the variance in this task (r 2 = .11, p < .01) than the other three WM tasks (loadings ranged from .53-.60, r 2s ranged from .30-.36, all ps < .001), model comparisons were conducted with and without this task. The OS task was included in the final model because (a) the inclusion of this task did not change the results of the model comparison, (b) the factor loading and variance accounted for were statistically significant, and (c) removing any tasks included in the original model would make the model less strictly confirmatory.

  2. For the multi-sample models using the sandwich estimator to adjust standard errors to account for the clustering of children within schools, fewer residuals were found to differ between groups (Size Ordering and Bird Dragon only), and the difference in the factor loading for Block Sorting emerged during the step in which all 10 factor loadings were constrained simultaneously.

References

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2009.11.003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., Kirkwood, H., & Elliott, J. (2009). The cognitive and behavioral characteristics of children with low working memory. Child Development, 80, 606–621. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01282.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bierman, K. L., Torres, M. M., Domitrovich, C. E., Welsh, J. A., & Gest, S. D. (2009). Behavioral and cognitive readiness for school: Cross-domain associations for children attending head start. Social Development, 18, 305–323. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00490.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, C., Zelazo, P. D., & Greenberg, M. T. (2005). The measurement of executive function in early childhood. Developmental Neuropsychology, 28, 561–571. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2802_1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brocki, K. C., Eninger, L., Thorell, L. B., & Bohlin, G. (2010). Interrelations between executive function and symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention in preschoolers: A two year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 163–171. doi:10.1007/s10802-009-9354-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, R., Espy, K. A., & Wiebe, S. A. (2008). Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers: Longitudinal predictors of mathematical achievement at age 7 years. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33, 205–228. doi:10.1080/87565640801982312.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, R., & Scerif, G. (2001). Executive functioning as a predictor of children’s mathematics ability: Inhibition, switching, and working memory. Developmental Neuropsychology, 19, 273–293. doi:10.1207/S15326942DN1903_3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, S. M., & Moses, L. J. (2001). Individual differences in inhibitory control and children’s theory of mind. Child Development, 72, 1032–1053. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corrigan, R. (1981). The effects of task and practice on search for invisibly displaced objects. Developmental Review, 1, 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, P. J., West, S. G., & Finch, J. F. (1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1, 16–29. doi:10.1037/1082-989.1.1.16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, C. D. (1990). Differential Abilities Scale. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., Goldsmith, H. H., & Van Hulle, C. A. (2006). Gender differences in temperament: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 33–72. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Espy, K. A. (1997). The Shape School: Assessing executive function in preschool children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 13, 495–499. doi:10.1080/87565649709540690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espy, K. A., & Bull, R. (2005). Inhibitory processes in young children and individual variation in short-term memory. Developmental Neuropsychology, 28, 669–688. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2802_6.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Frye, D., Zelazo, P. D., & Palfai, T. (1995). Theory of mind and rule-based reasoning. Cognitive Development, 10, 483–527. doi:10.1016/0885-2014(95)90024-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S. E., & Pickering, S. J. (2000). Assessment of working memory in six- and seven-year-old children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 377–390. doi:10.1037//0022-0663.92.2.377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerstadt, C. L., Hong, Y. J., & Diamond, A. (1994). The relationship between cognition and action: Performance of children 3 1/2-7 years old on a stroop-like day-night test. Cognition, 53, 129–153. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(94)90068-X.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives (pp. 1–55). Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, C. (1996). Control of action and thought: Normal development and dysfunction in autism: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 229–236. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01396.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, C., & Ensor, R. (2007). Executive function and theory of mind: Predictive relations from ages 2 to 4. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1447–1459. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1447.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, C., White, A., Sharpen, J., & Dunn, J. (2000). Antisocial, angry, and unsympathetic: “Hard-to-manage” preschoolers’ peer problems and possible cognitive influences. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 169–179. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. H. (2005). Developmental cognitive neuroscience (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, L. B., Rothbart, M. K., & Posner, M. I. (2003). Development of executive attention in preschool children. Developmental Science, 6, 498–504. doi:10.1111/1467-7687.00307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerns, K. A., & Rondeau, L. A. (1998). Development of a continuous performance test for preschool children. Journal of Attention Disorders, 2, 229–238. doi:10.1177/108705479800200403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). The Guilford Press: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G., Murray, K., Jacques, T. Y., Koenig, A. L., & Vandegeest, K. A. (1996). Inhibitory control in young children and its role in emerging internalization. Child Development, 67, 490–507. doi:10.2307/1131828.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kooijmans, R., Scheres, A., & Oosterlaan, J. (2000). Response inhibition and measures of psychopathology: A dimensional analysis. Child Neuropsychology, 6, 175–184. doi:10.1076/chin.6.3.175.3154.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S. (1998). NEPSY: A developmental neuropsychological assessment. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehto, J. E., Juujärvi, P., Kooistra, L., & Pulkkinen, L. (2003). Dimensions of executive functioning: Evidence from children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 21, 59–80. doi:10.1348/026151003321164627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lonigan, C. J. (2011). Florida VPK Assessment Measures: Technical Manual. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Office of Early Learning; Florida Department of Education.

  • McInerney, R. J., Hrabok, M., & Kerns, K. A. (2005). The children’s size-ordering task: A new measure of nonverbal working memory. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 27, 735–745. doi:10.1081/13803390490918633.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., & Howerter, A. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49–100. doi:10.1006/cogp.1999.0734.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998-2011). Mplus User's Guide. Sixth Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén

  • Nigg, J. T., & Casey, B. J. (2005). An integrative theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivitydisorder based on the cognitive and affective neurosciences. Development and Psychopathology,17, 785-806. doi: 10.10170S0954579405050376

  • Nigg, J. T., Quamma, J. P., Greenberg, M. T., & Kusche, C. A. (1999). A two-year longitudinal study of neuropsychological and cognitive performance in relation to behavioral problems and competencies in elementary school children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 51–63. doi:10.1023/A:1022614407893.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pelphrey, K., Reznick, S., Goldman, B., Sasson, N., Morrow, J., Donahoe, A., et al. (2004). Development of visuospatial short-term memory in the second half of the 1st year. Developmental Psychology, 40, 836–851. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.5.836.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pickering S., & Gathercole S. E. (2001). Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C). Psychological Corporation.

  • Raaijmakers, M. A. J., Smidts, D. P., Sergeant, J. A., Maassen, G. H., Posthumus, J. A., van Engeland, H., & Matthys, W. (2008). Executive functions in preschool children with aggressive behavior: Impairments in inhibitory control. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 1097–1107. doi:10.1007/s10802-008-9235-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, M. A., Pien, D. L., & Rothbart, M. K. (1984). Inhibitory self-control in preschool children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 131–147.

  • Reznick, J., Morrow, J., Goldman, B., & Snyder, J. (2004). The onset of working memory in infants. Infancy, 6, 145–154. doi:10.1207/s15327078in0601_7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades, B. L., Greenberg, M. T., & Domitrovich, C. E. (2009). The contribution of inhibitory control to preschoolers’ social-emotional competence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 310–320. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riggs, N. R., Blair, C. B., & Greenberg, M. T. (2003). Concurrent and 2-year longitudinal relations between executive function and the behavior of 1st and 2nd grade children. Child Neuropsychology, 9, 267–276. doi:10.1076/chin.9.4.267.23513.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoemaker, K., Bunte, T., Wiebe, S. A., Espy, K. A., Deković, M., & Matthys, W. (2012). Executive function deficits in preschool children with ADHD and DBD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 111–119. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02468.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seigneuric, A., & Ehrlich, M.-F. (2005). Contribution of working memory capacity to children’s reading comprehension: A longitudinal investigation. Reading and Writing, 18, 617–656. doi:10.1007/s11145-005-2038-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shing, Y. L., Lindenberger, U., Diamond, A., Li, S.-C., & Davidson, M. C. (2010). Memory maintenance and inhibitory control differentiate from early childhood to adolescence. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35(6), 679–697. doi:10.1080/87565641.2010.508546.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (2003). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—4th Edition (WISC-IV®). San Antonio, TX: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welsh, J. A., Nix, R. L., Blair, C., Bierman, K. L., & Nelson, K. E. (2010). The development of cognitive skills and gains in academic school readiness for children from low-income families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 43–53. doi:10.1037/a0016738.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wiebe, S. A., Espy, K. A., & Charak, D. (2008). Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: I. latent structure. Developmental Psychology, 44, 575–587. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.2.575.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiebe, S. A., Sheffield, T., Nelson, J. M., Clark, C. A. C., Chevalier, N., & Espy, K. A. (2011). The structure of executive function in 3-year-olds. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108, 436–452. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2010.08.008.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Willoughby, M. T., Blair, C. B., Wirth, R. J., & Greenberg, M. (2010). The measurement of executive function at age 3 years: Psychometric properties and criterion validity of a new battery of tasks. Psychological Assessment, 22, 306–317. doi:10.1037/a0018708.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, K.-H., & Bentler, P. M. (1996). Mean and covariance structure analysis with missing data. In A. Gupta & V. Girko (Eds.), Multidimensional statistical analysis and theory of random matrices: Proceedings of Sixth Eugene Lukacs Symposium (pp. 307–326). Utrecht: VSP.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

Portions of this work were supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD052120) and the Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education (R305B04074). The views expressed are those of the authors and have not been reviewed or approved by the granting agencies.

Conflicts of Interest

Matthew D. Lerner and Christopher J. Lonigan declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Experiment Participants

This study was approved by the university Internal Review Board (IRB) and all study procedures, including informed consent, followed the protocol approved by the IRB.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4301, USA

    Matthew D. Lerner & Christopher J. Lonigan

  2. Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4301, USA

    Christopher J. Lonigan

Authors
  1. Matthew D. Lerner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher J. Lonigan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew D. Lerner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lerner, M.D., Lonigan, C.J. Executive Function Among Preschool Children: Unitary Versus Distinct Abilities. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 36, 626–639 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9424-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9424-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation