儿童中期计划能力和注意能力的关系：一项交叉滞后研究

本研究追踪了139名儿童在7岁、8岁和9岁时在计划和注意任务上的表现,通过交叉滞后分析考察了此期间计划能力与注意能力不同成分（持续性注意,抑制控制和选择性注意）在发展上的关系。结果发现抑制控制和选择性注意与计划能力在7岁-8岁期间存在着正向的双向作用关系,而7岁时的持续性注意和抑制控制正向预测8岁时的计划能力,7岁时的计划能力正向预测8岁时的选择性注意。这些结果表明计划能力和注意能力的不同成分之间存在着发展上的双向作用关系。     

Do children's attention processes mediate the link between family predictors and school readiness?

The role of attention processes as possible mediators between family environment and school readiness was analyzed with data from 1,002 children and their families. Data on children's sustained attention, impulsivity, and school readiness (i.e., cognitive, achievement, language, and social development) were obtained at 54 months of age, and quality of the family environment was assessed throughout the first 54 months. Mediation tests showed that children's sustained attention partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement and language outcomes. Impulsivity partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement, social competence, and externalizing behaviors. The roles of sustained attention and of inhibition of impulsive responding in the relation between family characteristics and school readiness are discussed.     

The implications of early attentional regulation for school success among low-income children

This study examined the longitudinal associations between attentional regulation in preschool and children's school success in later elementary school within an at-risk sample (N = 2595). Specifically, two facets of attention (focused attention and lack of impulsivity) at age 5 were explored as independent predictors of children's achievement and behavioral competence at age 9. Overall, the pattern of results indicates specificity between the facets of attention and school success, such that focused attention was predictive of achievement outcomes whereas impulsivity was predictive of behavioral outcomes. Both facets of attention predicted the teacher ratings of children's approaches to learning, which suggests that they jointly influence skills that span both domains of school success. Poverty status, maternal warmth, and infant temperament did not moderate these associations. Implications of these findings for interventions targeting school readiness and success among at-risk children are discussed.     

Early disruptive behavior,IQ, and later school achievement and delinquent behavior

A series of structural equation models is developed to examine the relationship between early externalizing behaviors (conduct problems, attention deficit) and IQ measured at age 8 years, academic achievement over the period 10 to 13 years, and delinquent behavior to the age of 15 in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. These models indicated that early externalizing behaviors and IQ were related to later academic achievement and delinquent behavior by two quite distinct but highly correlated developmental sequences. In one sequence early conduct problems were predictive of later delinquency but were not directly related to later academic achievement. In the other sequence, attention deficit and IQ were prognostic of later school achievement but were not directly related to delinquency. Further, the apparent correlations between academic achievement and delinquency were adequately explained by the common and correlated effects of early behavior and IQ on later achievement and delinquency. These conclusions remained unchanged when the sample was stratified by gender, and when further explanatory factors were introduced into the model.This research was funded by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and the National Child Health Research Foundation.     

Unimpaired attentional disengagement in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder

A prominent hypothesis holds that ‘sticky’ attention early in life in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) limits their ability to explore and learn about the world. Under this hypothesis, the core clinical symptoms of ASD – restricted interests, repetitive behaviors and impaired social/communication abilities – could all result from impaired attentional disengagement during development. However, the existence of disengagement deficits in children with ASD is controversial, and a recent study found no deficit in 5‐ to 12‐year‐olds with ASD. Nonetheless, the possibility remains that disengagement is impaired earlier in development in children with ASD, altering their developmental trajectory even if the attentional deficit itself is remediated or compensated for by the time children with ASD reach school age. Here, we tested this possibility by characterizing attentional disengagement in a group of toddlers just diagnosed with ASD (age 21 to 37 months). We found strikingly similar performance between the ASD and age‐matched typically developing (TD) toddlers, and no evidence of impaired attentional disengagement. These results show that even at a young age when the clinical symptoms of ASD are first emerging, disengagement abilities are intact. Sticky attention is not a fundamental characteristic of ASD, and probably does not play a causal role in its etiology.     

The Relationship Between Measures of Cognitive Attention and Behavioral Ratings of Attention in Typically Developing Children

In the present study, we explored the relation between performance on cognitive measures of attention (selection, sustained, and control) and behavioral ratings of inattention and hyperactivity in a sample of typically developing children aged 3 to 7 years. We also examined the influence of chronological age and IQ on both task performance and behavior ratings. Four well-documented attention paradigms were employed, the Visearch (single-target search) task as a measure of selective attention, the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) as a measure of sustained attention, the Day-Night task as a measure of response inhibition, and the Visearch (dual-target search) task as a measure of inhibitory control. The Conners' Rating Scales (Cognitive/Inattention and Hyperactivity subscales) were used to allow for a finer tuned comparison of cognitive performance as related to inattentive behaviors versus hyperactive behaviors. Findings indicate that accuracy and speed in the Visearch dual search task were the most sensitive measures relating respectively to inattentive and hyperactive rated behaviors.     

School achievement strongly predicts midlife IQ

The relationship between measures of IQ and standardized school achievement tests is well established at around r ≈ 0.5 when the two are measured in close proximity. The current paper examined the stability of this correlation when comparing elementary school achievement (grades 3–8) and midlife IQ. Iowa Adoption Study participants who had standardized school achievement measures (ITBS) on file were given the WAIS-III. Mean age at IQ testing was 44.01 years (SD 6.65 years). The correlation between school achievement and WAIS-III FSIQ was r = 0.64, suggesting substantial life span stability in this relationship. Furthermore, elementary school achievement was substantially correlated with occupational status and household income at midlife. These findings suggest that standardized school achievement data is a useful measure of premorbid IQ.     

The development of attentional orienting during the school‐age years

This study was designed to assess the development of spatial attentional orienting during the school‐age years. To that end, we used a cost‐benefit attentional cueing task with short (100 ms) and long (800 ms) cue‐to‐target intervals to examine attentional processing independent of motor skills and perceptual processing in 200 7–17‐year‐olds and 40 adults. We found that orienting attention, disengaging attention and visual processing in an unattended location, were all progressively more accurate and faster with increasing age. Our data thus suggest that the efficiency of attentional orienting improves in an age‐related manner throughout the school‐age years.     

Attention and executive functioning in infancy: Links to childhood executive function and reading achievement

This study provides the first analyses connecting individual differences in infant attention to reading achievement through the development of executive functioning (EF) in infancy and early childhood. Five‐month‐old infants observed a video, and peak look duration and shift rate were video coded and assessed. At 10 months, as well as 3, 4, and 6 years, children completed age‐appropriate EF tasks (A‐not‐B task, hand game, forward digit span, backwards digit span, and number Stroop). Children also completed a standardized reading assessment and a measure of verbal intelligence (IQ) at age 6. Path analyses on 157 participants showed that infant attention had a direct statistical predictive effect on EF at 10 months, with EF showing a continuous pattern of development from 10 months to 6 years. EF and verbal IQ at 6 years had a direct effect on reading achievement. Furthermore, EF at all time points mediated the relation between 5‐month attention and reading achievement. These findings may inform reading interventions by suggesting earlier intervention time points and specific cognitive processes (i.e. 5‐month attention).     

Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement trajectories during adolescence

Most studies have considered the effects of particular characteristics on academic achievement individually, which means that little is known about how they function together. Using the population-based Minnesota Twin Family Study, the authors investigated the effects of child academic engagement (interest, involvement, effort), IQ, depression, externalizing behavior, and family environmental risk on academic achievement (reported school grades) from ages 11 through 17. Hierarchical linear growth curve modeling showed main effects on initial reported Grades for all variables, and IQ mitigated the deleterious effects of family risk and externalizing. Only engagement affected change in Grades through adolescence. Influences on initial Grades were strongly genetically influenced, associated primarily with IQ, engagement, and externalizing behavior. Shared environmental influences on initial Grades linked engagement, IQ, and family risk. Genetic influences on change in Grades were substantial, but they were not associated with the academic, family risk, and mental health covarying factors. These results indicate that age 11 achievement and change in achievement through adolescence show systematic patterns and document the existence of individual differences in the commonly shared developmental experience of adapting to the school environment.     

Reversing the speed–IQ correlation: Intra-individual variability and attentional control in the inspection time paradigm

Elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) are simple tasks involving basic cognitive processes for which speed of performance typically correlates with IQ. Inspection time (IT) has the strongest IQ correlations and is considered critical evidence for neural speed underlying individual differences in intelligence. However, results from Bors et al. [Bors, D.A., Stokes, T.L., Forrin, B. & Hodder, S.L., (1999). Inspection Time and Intelligence: Practice, strategies, and attention. Intelligence, 27, 111–129.] suggest task consistency may underlie this shared variance. One possibility is that performance consistency reflects attentional mechanisms, as previous research has shown relationships between attentional control and cognitive performance. In study 1, participants were administered the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and performed an alternative version of the IT task to measure individual trial-by-trial consistency expressed as the standard deviation of IT (ITSD). The alternative procedure yielded IT–IQ correlations similar to those obtained in previous studies and ITSD accounted for the IT–IQ variance. A second experiment tested whether ITSD measures attentional control, as participants simultaneously performed the IT task and an attention-demanding verbalization task. Under these conditions, high IQ participants performed worse on IT. These results suggest IT performance may reflect individual differences in attentional control and that this variable may account for the variance shared between IT and IQ.     

Attentional disengagement in adults with Williams syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a distinctive behavioral and cognitive profile, including widespread problems with attention. However, the specific nature of their attentional difficulties, such as inappropriate attentional allocation and/or poor attentional disengagement abilities, has yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, it is unknown if there is an underlying difficulty with the temporal dynamics of attention in WS or if their attentional difficulties are task-dependent, because previous studies have examined attention in established areas of deficit and atypicality (specifically, visuospatial and face processing). In this study, we examined attentional processing in 14 adults with WS (20–59 years) and 17 typically developing controls (19–39 years) using an attentional blink (AB) paradigm. The AB is the decreased ability to detect a second target when it is presented in close proximity to an initial target. Overall, adults with WS had an AB that was prolonged in duration, but no different in magnitude, compared with typically developing control participants. AB performance was not explained by IQ, working memory, or processing speed in either group. Thus, results suggest that the attention problems in WS are primarily due to general attentional disengagement difficulties rather than inappropriate attentional allocation.     

What are the Causes of the Attention Deficits Observed in Children with Dyslexia?

Dyslexic children often show attention problems at school, but it is not clear the nature of their impairments. The aim of this study was to analyze whether verbal processing artefacts could mediate attention deficits. Forty-seven children (22 dyslexics and 25 controls), aged between 7 to 12, were assessed through an ADHD rating scale and a battery of tasks tapping different attentional processes (selective, sustained, executive, and orienting). Phonological measures were used as covariates. Children with dyslexia showed attentional impairments (using both rating scales and neuropsychological tasks); however their performance was significantly affected by phonological performance. In conclusion, dyslexics may be inattentive at school because they are slow processors, in particular when they are presented with verbal stimuli.     

What children know about the source of their knowledge without reporting it as the source

We tested the development of attentional functions within Syrian and German children of pre-school and school age (n = 562, 5–12 years), using the Test of Attentional Performance for Children (KITAP). After controlling the intelligence (IQ) and socioeconomic status (SES), age-related improvements were found in all the attentional functions, with rapid improvements between 8 and 10 years. Gender differences were also found in some attention performances. More importantly, cultural differences were also evident. The performance in the activation functions “Alertness” and “Vigilance” were independent from cultural background, whereas performances in Sustained Attention, in functions of visuospatial orienting (Visual Scanning) and executive systems (Divided Attention, Flexibility and Distractibility) revealed cultural differences. In general, the Syrian children showed slower performances, higher variability of responses and more errors compared with German children. The overall results of the study supports the universal development of attention functions during school age, and show that attention performances could be influenced by characteristics of the cultural background (Arabic-Syrian: collectivistic–dependent; and Western German: individualistic–independent).     

Attentional processes in young children with congenital visual impairment

The study investigated attentional processes of 32 preschool children with congenital visual impairment (VI). Children with profound visual impairment (PVI) and severe visual impairment (SVI) were compared to a group of typically developing sighted children in their ability to respond to adult directed attention in terms of establishing, maintaining, and shifting attention on toys. The measures of children's sensory‐motor understanding (SMU) and language ability were obtained using the Reynell‐Zinkin scales of mental development. The video‐recordings of these play‐based assessments were coded for three categories of behavioural responses (Establish, Maintain, and Shift). The three groups were matched on verbal comprehension (VC), but differed significantly in their SMU and their chronological age. The groups of children with PVI and SVI were found to be comparable in their ability to establish and maintain attention on objects. Despite a relatively good performance overall both groups scored significantly lower on those skills than children who were sighted. However, with regards to attention shifting, children with PVI showed significantly lower performance than both the children with SVI and the sighted children who were similar on this component. Ability to maintain and shift attention was significantly related to the cognitive ability of children with PVI; however the poorer attentional responses were not confined only to the children with low IQ. The results are discussed in relation to the role of vision, cognitive ability and executive function in attentional processes in children with congenital VI.     

Multimodal intervention program to improve attention deficits

Is it possible to learn to attend? The purpose of this article is to provide information about the development, administration, and contrast of an intervention program to improve selective and sustained attention in students from 5 to 19 years of age, all attending school, and with difficulties to learn the academic materials corresponding to their age. Two groups participated in the study: one with difficulties in selective attention and the other with difficulties in sustained attention. The group with selective attention difficulties was made up of 102 students, of whom 59 made up the experimental group and 43 the control group. The group of students with difficulties in sustained attention was made up of 106 students, of whom 58 participated as the experimental group and 48 as the control group. The results indicate that this kind of intervention (which combines visual therapy, cortical activation, and training with activity banks) is effective to improve attentional deficits, both at the level of selective attention and of sustained attention.     

Feasibility and validity of the structured attention module among economically disadvantaged preschool-age children

Rooted in the theory of attention put forth by Mirsky, Anthony, Duncan, Ahearn, and Kellam (1991), the Structured Attention Module (SAM) is a developmentally sensitive, computer-based performance task designed specifically to assess sustained selective attention among 3- to 6-year-old children. The current study addressed the feasibility and validity of the SAM among 64 economically disadvantaged preschool-age children (mean age = 58 months; 55% female); a population known to be at risk for attention problems and adverse math performance outcomes. Feasibility was demonstrated by high completion rates and strong associations between SAM performance and age. Principal Factor Analysis with rotation produced robust support for a three-factor model (Accuracy, Speed, and Endurance) of SAM performance, which largely corresponded with existing theorized models of selective and sustained attention. Construct validity was evidenced by positive correlations between SAM Composite scores and all three SAM factors and IQ, and between SAM Accuracy and sequential memory. Value-added predictive validity was not confirmed through main effects of SAM on math performance above and beyond age and IQ; however, significant interactions by child sex were observed: Accuracy and Endurance both interacted with child sex to predict math performance. In both cases, the SAM factors predicted math performance more strongly for girls than for boys. There were no overall sex differences in SAM performance. In sum, the current findings suggest that interindividual variation in sustained selective attention, and potentially other aspects of attention and executive function, among young, high-risk children can be captured validly with developmentally sensitive measures.     

Attentional bias differences between fear and disgust: Implications for the role of disgust in disgust-related anxiety disorders

Research demonstrates a relation between disgust and anxiety-related pathology; however, research has yet to reveal mechanisms by which disgust may contribute to anxiety. The current experiment examined attentional bias characteristics as one route by which disgust influences anxiety. Eighty undergraduate participants completed a rapid serial visual presentation attention task using fear, disgust, or neutral target stimuli. Task-relevance of the target's presentation was also manipulated. Results revealed that task-relevant disgust targets impaired attention among all participants, but task-irrelevant disgust targets impaired attention only in high disgust prone individuals. Difficulty in disengagement characterised both disgust and fear attentional biases, but the difficulty in disengagement was greater for disgust compared to fear attentional biases. High disgust prone individuals displayed exaggerated difficulty in disengaging attention from disgust targets compared to low disgust prone individuals. The results suggest that disgust attentional biases differ from fear attentional biases. The characteristics of disgust attentional biases are discussed as possible mechanisms by which disgust functions in certain anxiety disorders.     

Type A behaviour pattern and attentional bias in relation to anger/hostility, achievement, and failure

Type A subjects are characterised by dysfunctional cognitions related to themes of competitiveness, achievement, and hostility. The present experiment investigated attentional biases for words relevant to the content of these dysfunctional schemata in Type A individuals. After completing the MMPI-2 Type A Scale, subjects completed two alternative versions of a visual probe detection task (administered 4–12 days apart) which contained achievement, failure, and anger/hostility/aggression related words. Prior to testing at time 1, subjects were told that the purpose of the procedure was to collect normative data only. Prior to testing at time 2, subjects were told that performance on the test was known to be closely related to IQ and that they could compare their performance with that of other subjects following completion of the task. Type A subjects directed attention towards anger/hostility/aggression words under low performance motivation conditions but away from such words under high performance motivation conditions. Type A subjects also showed less selective attention to failure words than Type B subjects, and no group differences were detected for achievement related words. The results are discussed with reference to models of dysfunctional cognitive processing, and the role of anger/hostility, in particular, in Type A personality.     

Neurodevelopmental model of long-term outcomes of adult survivors of childhood brain tumors

Childhood brain tumors and related treatments disrupt the developing brain and have a cascading impact on core cognitive skills and intellectual (intelligence quotient [IQ]) and academic achievement outcomes. Theoretical models for this cascade have been developed based on the literature, but no studies thus far have empirically evaluated the models. The current study aimed to empirically test the two extant models and generate a new data-driven model of the relationships among neurodevelopmental risk factors, core cognitive skills (i.e., processing speed, attention span, working memory), and IQ and achievement outcomes. Fifty-seven adult survivors of childhood brain tumors and fifty-seven demographically matched neurotypical individuals were included in the current study. The average age at brain tumor diagnosis was 8 years, and the average time since diagnosis was 17 years. Three a priori path models tested the hypothesized relationships among variables. Results of the path analyses revealed that the hybrid model best fit the data for both survivors and controls based on all statistical criteria. For survivors, processing speed was the core cognitive skill most widely associated with neurodevelopmental risk factors and outcomes. However, working memory and attention span also had unique contributions to IQ and academic achievement. Processing speed appears to be the central cognitive skill that disrupts the other core cognitive skills of attention span and working memory, and all three make a unique contribution to IQ and academic achievement. This is best demonstrated by a novel neurodevelopmental model that combines components of two earlier untested theoretical models.