How bilingual experience and executive control influence development in language control among bilingual children

This longitudinal study investigates whether the development in executive control and bilingual experience predicts change in language control in bilingual children. Children were tested twice over the course of 1 year, using the language‐switching paradigm and the Simon task. The participants were Japanese‐English bilingual “returnee” children (ages 7–13), who returned to their first language (L1) environment after spending some years in a second language (L2) dominant environment. Testing these children upon their return to the L1 environment allowed us to disentangle the effect of age from bilingual experience, as they experienced an increase in age but a decrease in L2 exposure over time. Children who had less L2 exposure showed smaller improvement in baseline performance when naming pictures in English (i.e., when English was relevant across all trials). Moreover, development in trials where children had to switch between languages were modulated by development in executive control. That is, children who increased their performance in the English mixed repetition trials also performed better on the executive control task over time. Thus, development in executive control modulated change in language control among bilingual children, suggesting a positive relationship between language control and executive control in children's development.     

Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Function in Children with Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Implications for Genetic Counseling

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between parental socio-economic status (SES) and childhood neurocognition and behavior in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). Although undoubtedly, the deletion of genes in the 22q11.2 interval is primarily responsible for the psychological manifestations, little is known about the role of the environment in either mitigating or contributing to these problems. We examined the association of parental socio-economic status (SES) with cognition and behavior in children with 22q11DS (n = 65) and matched healthy control subjects (n = 52), since SES is a component of family resources. We found that in children with 22q11DS, higher SES correlated with better overall functioning (p < .01) and social skills (p < .01), and less frequent oppositional defiant behavior (p < .001). These findings were in contrast to the control subjects in whom SES correlated with cognition and achievement, but not behavior. Our results indicate that environmental factors influence the behavioral phenotype in children with 22q11DS, providing a framework for developing appropriate interventions. As such, genetic counseling for families with 22q11DS may include consideration of family resources and inclusion of other health professionals, such as social workers, to explore with the family available social supports and resources.     

Institutional care and iron deficiency increase ADHD symptomology and lower IQ 2.5–5 years post‐adoption

Increased ADHD symptomology and lower IQ have been reported in internationally adopted (IA) children compared to non‐adopted peers (Hostinar, Stellern, Schaefer, Carlson & Gunnar, 2012; Kreppner, O'Connor & Rutter, 2001). However, it is unclear whether these outcomes are due to institutional deprivation specifically or to co‐occurring micronutrient deficiencies that disrupt brain development (Fuglestad, Rao & Georgieff, 2008b). In this study, IA children were compared to children raised in their biological families to examine differences in ADHD symptomology and IQ 2.5–5 years post‐adoption and to assess the contributions of iron deficiency (ID) and duration of deprivation to these cognitive outcomes. ADHD symptoms (parent‐ and experimenter‐reported) and IQ were evaluated in 88 IA (M = 62.1 months, SD = 2.4) and 35 non‐adopted children (M = 61.4 months, SD = 1.6). IA children were assessed 29–64 months post‐adoption (M = 41.9 months, SD = 10.2). ID was assessed during the initial post‐adoption medical visit in 69 children, and children were classified into four groups by iron status, ranging from normal to ID anemia (most severe). IA children had greater ADHD symptomology, p < .01, and lower IQ, p = .001, than non‐adopted children. Within the IA group, children with more severe ID at adoption had greater ADHD symptomology, r(69) = 0.40, p = .001, and lower IQ, r(68) = −0.28, p < .05. Duration of institutional care was positively correlated with ADHD symptoms, r(86) = .28, p < .01, but not IQ, r(85) = −.08, p = .52. Longitudinal results indicate improvement in IQ from 12 months post‐adoption to age 5 for children with greater ID severity at adoption and longer duration of institutional care but no improvement in ADHD symptoms. These results signify continuing effects of early deprivation and ID on ADHD symptoms and IQ years after adoption. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUFDAS3DD1c     

resilience and unemployment: exploring risk and protective influences for the outcome variables of depression and assertive job searching

This study examined adult resilience in the context of the adversity of unemployment. Seventy‐seven unemployed job seekers completed a self‐report survey containing the Resilience Scale (G. M. Wagnild & H. M. Young, 1993), Centre for Epidemiologic Studies–Depressed Mood Scale (L. S. Radloff, 1977), and the Assertive Job Hunting Survey (H. A. Becker, 1980). Product–term regression indicated that for those unemployed persons who had resilient qualities, less depression resulted even though they had been job searching for a long time (beta = ‐.359, p < .001). Length of time job searching was positively associated with depression (beta = .41, p < .01). When the outcome variable was job search assertiveness, only the main effect of resilience (beta = .492, p < .001) was significant, accounting for 25.8% of the variance. The inclusion of psychological interventions to foster resilience, along with standard job search training provided by job network services, is advocated.     

Evidence for an Error Monitoring Deficit in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

We studied error monitoring in ADHD and control children in a task requiring inhibition of a motor response. The extent of slowing following successful (stopped) and failed (nonstopped) inhibition was compared across groups. We also measured the time required to inhibit a response (stop signal reaction time, SSRT). Compared to controls, ADHD participants slowed less following nonstopped responses. Slowing did not vary with comorbid reading, oppositional, conduct or anxiety disorder, sex or ADHD subtype. Slowing after nonstopped responses was marginally, although significantly correlated with total ADHD symptoms and with age. ADHD participants had significantly longer SSRT than controls, but SSRT was not significantly correlated with slowing. The apparent deficit in error monitoring in ADHD and its independence from the inhibition deficit observed in ADHD has implications for executive control models of ADHD, performance problems associated with the disorder and for component theories of executive control.     

Cross-lateralisation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and motor skill performance

Cross-lateralisation and increased motor difficulties have been reported in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Nevertheless, the question of how crossed (i.e. mixed preference) or uncrossed (i.e. same side preference) lateralisation impacts motor performance in children with ADHD has yet to be examined. In this study, previously validated observational measures of hand and foot preference were used to identify right-handed children with ADHD who display cross- (n = 29) and uncross-lateralisation (n = 31). An uncross-lateralised typically developing (TD) group (n = 32) was also identified, and included as a control. Motor performance was assessed with seven valid and reliable fine and gross motor tasks performed with both preferred and non-preferred limbs. Group, task and sex-related effects were examined. Findings revealed that male (but not female) cross-lateralised children with ADHD performed significantly worse, respectively, in two of the fine motor tasks (spiral tracing [p < .01], and dot filling [p < .05]). Results suggest that cross-lateralised hand and foot preference may affect complex motor skills in male children with ADHD. Furthermore, characteristics of ADHD may manifest differently in male and female children. Findings highlight the importance of considering both hand and foot preference when targeting motor interventions for children with ADHD.     

Children's understanding of communicative intentions in the middle of the second year of life

Two tasks were administered to 40 children aged from 16 to 20 months (mean age = 18;1), to evaluate children's understanding of declarative and informative intention [Behne, T., Carpenter, M., & Tomasello, M. (2005). One-year-olds comprehend the communicative intentions behind gestures in a hiding game. Developmental Science, 8, 492–499; Camaioni, L., Perucchini, P., Bellagamba, F., & Colonnesi, C. (2004). The role of declarative pointing in developing a theory of mind. Infancy, 5, 291–308]. In the first task, children had to respond to the experimenter who pointed at a distal object; in the second task, children had to find a toy in a hiding game after the experimenter indicated the correct location either by pointing or by gazing. In the first task, most children responded to the declarative gesture by “commenting” on the pointed object instead of just looking; however, looking responses were more frequent than commenting responses. In the second task, children chose the correct location of the object significantly more frequently when the informative gesture was the point than when it was the gaze; moreover, there were significantly more correct choices than incorrect choices in the point but not in the gaze condition. Finally, no significant relation was found between tasks. Taken together, the findings support the view that infants’ developing understanding of communicative intention is a complex process in which general cognitive abilities and contextual factors are equally important.     

Patterns of Attachment in Frequently and Infrequently Reading Mother—Child Dyads

This study explored the relationship between the quality of the mother–child attachment and how often mothers read to their children. Eighteen children who were read to infrequently were matched to a group of children who were read to daily, for sex, age, and socioeconomic status. The children's mothers read them a booklet, mother and child were observed in a reunion episode, the children completed the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Dunn, 1965) and Frostig's (1966) test for spatial orientation, and the mothers were given the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1984). The mothers in the frequently reading dyads did not need to discipline their child to focus on the reading task as often as the mothers in the infrequently reading dyads did. Mothers whose attachment to their child was less secure spent less time reading to their child and had more troublesome episodes during the reading session than mothers whose attachment to their child was more secure. The security of the mother-child attachment was related to the mothers' representation of their relationship with their parents, and mothers who had a secure relationship with their child read more frequently to their child than did mothers who had an insecure relationship with their child.     

Association of physical activity and fitness with executive function among preschoolers

It is well-documented in the literature that high levels of regular physical activity (PA), low levels of sedentary behavior (SB), and high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are associated with superior cognitive functioning, especially with regard to older populations. However, concerning other age groups (e.g., preschoolers) the available evidence documenting such a positive relationship is relatively scarce. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the association of time spent in different PA intensity zones and CRF with executive functions (EFs) in preschool-age children. To this end, preschoolers (n = 127) aged 3 to 6 years were recruited from 9 kindergarten classes in 2 districts of Shenzhen, China. The amount and the intensity of PA were assessed via accelerometry, and the CRF level was quantified by the 20-meter shuttle run test. EFs including inhibitory control and working memory were assessed using the one-on-one iPad-based Early Year Toolbox. Results suggested that children who had a higher CRF level (“impulse control” scores: β = 0.34, p < .001; “Go” accuracy: β = 0.31, p < .001; “No-Go” accuracy: β =0.28, < .001) and spentmore time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (“impulse control” scores: β = 0.50, p < .001; No-Go” accuracy: β = 0.52, p < .001) had higher scores on inhibitory control tasks, and those who had a higher CRF level had higher scores on a working memory task (β = 0.24, p < .05). The findings are discussed in light of the positive roles of MVPA and CRF for promoting EFs, but also consider the disproportionate association of PA and CRF with working memory relative to inhibition.     

EXAMINATION OF THREE TECHNIQUES FOR IDENTIFYING FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN AT RISK FOR DIFFICULTY IN WORD IDENTIFICATION WITH AN EMPHASIS ON REDUCING THE FALSE NEGATIVE ERROR RATE

The success of early intervention programs created to prevent children from experiencing reading failure is contingent upon the accurate identification of children at risk for reading difficulties. The present study assessed 291 first graders (M Age = 79.7 months; 54.9% female, 45.1% male) on reading, intelligence, and phonological processing at the beginning and end of the academic year to determine the accuracy of three different approaches to identification. The first procedure used the calibration data from a reference group's discriminant analysis, the second simply determined the children who scored below the mean on all of the reading and phonological variables (Simple Computation), and the last used a weighting system (Complex Computation). The children were classified into good and poor reading groups based on composite reading scores determined by averaging their standard scores on Word Identification, Word Attack, and Passage Comprehension of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised (Woodcock, 1987) at the end of the year. The poor readers were further classified, based on their scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (Dunn & Dunn, 1981) into groups containing children who had reading difficulties (RD) and children whose reading abilities were commensurate with their intelligence (intelligence commensurate, IC). Although all of the procedures provided relatively accurate identification, 80.2%, 87.3%, 89.7%, for the discriminant analysis, Simple Computation, and Complex Computation, respectively, the last procedure provided the best overall accuracy with the smallest percentage of false negatives (6.2%).     

Self-esteem,locus of control,and task difficulty as determinants of task performance

One hundred twenty-six high school students responded to questionnaire measures of chronic self-esteem (CSE), task-specific self-esteem (TSSE), and locus of control of reinforcements (L of C) and were given a list of anagrams to solve that varied in level of task difficulty (TD). L of C and (to a lesser extent) TSSE were each related to task performance (TP), multiple R = .51 (p < .01). CSE was not related to TP. The overall relationships of TSSE and L of C with TP were each moderated significantly by TD. The results are discussed in terms of a gradual specification of the “boundary conditions” within which cognitive consistency theory and social learning theory may be applicable.     

Dissociations among tasks involving inhibition: A single-case study

Recent theories of working memory have emphasized the role of inhibition in suppressing irrelevant information. Moreover, psychometric studies have reported that several inhibition tasks with very diverse requirements load on a single inhibition factor. A patient with left inferior frontal damage, Patient M.L., previously reported to have a semantic short-term memory deficit (R. C. Martin & He, 2004), showed evidence of difficulty with inhibition on short-term memory tasks. We investigated whether he would show evidence of inhibition difficulty on two verbal tasks (a Stroop task and a recent-negatives task) and two nonverbal tasks (a nonverbal spatial Stroop task and an antisaccade task). M.L. was impaired on both verbal tasks but performed normally on the nonverbal tasks. M.L.’s data also represent a dissociation between Stroop and antisaccade performance, two tasks that load on a single factor in factor-analytic studies. The implications of these data for theories of inhibition and executive function are discussed.     

The Moderating Effects of Self-Talk Content on Self-Talk Functions

The purpose of the study was to examine whether different types of self-talk serve different functions. Twenty-one female swimming class students were initially tested on an experimental water polo precision task. After a three-day program during which participants practiced self-talk on swimming drills, they were tested again on the experimental task, using attentional and anxiety control self-talk cues. In addition, participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived functions of self-talk, for each of the two self-talk cues that were used. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that according to participants’ perceptions the anxiety control self-talk cue had greater impact on anxiety control than the attentional self-talk cue (p < .01), whereas effects for attention, effort, confidence, and automaticity were similar when using attentional and anxiety control cues. Furthermore, repeated measures MANOVAs for each self-talk cue revealed that both cues mostly assisted concentration to the task (p < .01). The results partially support that the use of different types of self-talk may serve different functions depending on the content of the employed cues.     

Electrophysiological evidence of altered memory processing in children experiencing early deprivation

Associations between early deprivation and memory functioning were examined in 9- to 11-year-old children. Children who had experienced prolonged institutional care prior to adoption were compared to children who were adopted early from foster care and children reared in birth families. Measures included the Paired Associates Learning task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test and Automated Battery (CANTAB) and a continuous recognition memory task during which ERPs were also recorded. Children who experienced prolonged institutionalization showed deficits in both behavioral memory measures as well as an attenuated P300 parietal memory effect. Results implicate memory function as one of the domains that may be negatively influenced by early deprivation in the form of institutional care.     

Acting Nasty in the Face of Failure? Longitudinal Observations of “Hard-to-Manage” Children Playing a Rigged Competitive Game with a Friend

Peer problems are almost universal among children with disruptive behavior disorders, and have been linked to social information processing deficits that lead to heightened threat responses (K. A. Dodge, 1980). This 2-year longitudinal study uses direct observations to examine the real-life significance of this finding. Forty hard-to-manage children and 40 typically developing control children were filmed at ages 5 and 7 playing a rigged competitive game in which they experienced a clear threat of losing. Group differences in negative behavior (hard-to-manage > controls) were stable over time and independent of verbal ability. Predictors of individual differences in negative behavior were also examined. Previous studies with this sample have shown that at 4 years of age, the hard-to-manage children displayed elevated frequencies of violent pretend play (J. Dunn & C. Hughes, 2001), coupled with poor performance on tests of executive function and theory of mind (C. Hughes, J. Dunn, & A. White, 1998). In this study, 4-year-olds whose pretend play indicated a preoccupation with violence were more likely to respond negatively to the threat of losing a competitive game at age 5 and at age 7. Four-year-olds who performed poorly on tests of theory of mind and executive function showed higher rates of negative behavior at age 5 but not age 7. These findings highlight just a few of the multiple paths leading to peer problems among children with disruptive behavior problems.     

The Stroop test: A developmental study in a French children sample aged 7 to 12 years

The Stroop test is a commonly used task in psychology to assess executive function and more specifically inhibition. International studies consistently show improved Stroop task performance with age, whereas available French normative data displays the opposite pattern, with poor clinical sensibility (Albaret & Migliore, 1999). To provide an alternative and useful Stroop test for children, we examined developmental data based on a well-known French protocol validated in adult (GREFEX study group, 2001). The three-standard conditions of the Stroop task (i.e. naming, reading and interference) were administered to 120 typically developing school children (7–12 years), while taking into account the effects of gender, parental educational level and intelligence (both crystallized and fluid intelligence, as measured by the Wechsler intelligence scale). The time to complete each condition (in seconds) was recorded, as well as the number of uncorrected and corrected errors. Results show a continuous increase of performance in “reading” and “naming” control conditions between 7 and 12 years, suggesting an improvement in the lexical access speed and the automation of decoding abilities during reading. Most importantly, a significant reduction of time Stroop effect with age was found (difference between interference and naming conditions), but no interaction with gender. Stroop performances are related to fluid intelligence once age is statistically controlled, but not to parental educational level. The developmental pattern found from the Stroop GREFEX version is consistent with international data and more broadly with executive function and inhibition development. These findings open the prospect of useful normative standardization of this task, with valuable clinical applications perspectives.     

Externalizing Symptomatology Among Adoptive Youth: Prevalence and Preadoption Risk Factors

The extent of symptomatology related to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) was examined in a statewide sample of adopted youth, aged 4–18 years (n = 808). The use of normed questionnaires in a nonclinical sample decreased biases associated with past research on adopted children. According to parental report, a striking number of the youth qualified as manifesting significant symptom levels of externalizing behavior problems: 21% met symptom cutoffs for ADHD (with or without ODD) and 20% met criteria for ODD (with or without ADHD), for a combined total of 29% of the sample. A number of parent-reported, preadoptive risk factors distinguished these groups from one another and from the nonexternalizing youth. The clearest associated factors included histories of preadoption abuse/neglect, later age of adoption, prenatal drug exposure, and placement in multiple foster homes prior to adoption. We discuss implications regarding both etiology and current controversies surrounding the disproportionate levels of behavioral difficulties in adopted youth.     

The frequency and significance of additional self-reported psychiatric diagnoses in children with attention deficit disorder

The frequency of additional self-reported diagnoses in a large, heterogeneous sample of attention defiict disorder (ADD) children (N=182)was determined using the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA). Over half the children had additional DICA diagnoses, with oppositional disorder and anxiety/mood disorders the most frequent. ADD boys with internalizing-type diagnoses had lower verbal IQs and arithmetic scores and performed more poorly on attention tasks than those without; parents also rated them more adversely. Those with externalizing- type diagnoses were rated as more aggressive by teachers and had sociopathic, thrill- seeking profiles on paper-pencil self-ratings. Over 40% of the children were dyslexic or slow learners but they had no higher rate of DICA diagnoses than those who read adequately.This research was supported by NIMH grant R01-MH39189 and by the Marie Wilson Howells Fund. The authors are grateful to the Chid Study Center staff who assisted in recruiting and evaluating subjects and to the Behavioral Laboratory team members who collected and analyzed the data.     

Parenting practices and child disruptive behavior problems in early elementary school. Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group

Examined the hypothesis that distinct parenting practices may be associated with type and profile of a child's disruptive behavior problems (e.g., oppositional, aggressive, hyperactive). Parents of 631 behaviorally disruptive children described the extent to which they experienced warm and involved interactions with their children and the extent to which their discipline strategies were inconsistent and punitive and involved spanking and physical aggression. As expected from a developmental perspective, parenting practices that included punitive interactions were associated with elevated rates of all child disruptive behavior problems. Low levels of warm involvement were particularly characteristic of parents of children who showed elevated levels of oppositional behaviors. Physically aggressive parenting was linked more specifically with child aggression. In general, parenting practices contributed more to the prediction of oppositional and aggressive behavior problems than to hyperactive behavior problems, and parenting influences were fairly consistent across ethnic groups and sex.     

Training referential communicative skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study

The present study reports the effects of referential communication training in individuals formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 20 children with ASD (M age = 14.3 yr., SD = 4.2; 6 girls, 14 boys) in the role of speakers and 20 control children, who acted as listeners. They were all enrolled in mainstream compulsory education. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were defined according to the clinical diagnosis of ASD, the presence or absence of additional or associated disability, previous training in referential communication, and any drug treatment. Speakers were randomly assigned to one of two groups (trained vs untrained). Linguistic age, cognitive level and autistic symptoms were analyzed, respectively, with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC-R or WAIS-III), and the Autistic Behavior Checklist (ABC). Communicative abilities were analyzed through two indexes related to message complexity and self-regulation. The trained group was trained in referential communication tasks (task analysis, role taking, and task evaluation), while the untrained group took part in a communicative game but without any specific communicative training. The results showed that the complexity of emitted messages had improved statistically significantly in the trained group as an effect of training. Ecological referential communication is shown to be an appropriate paradigm for studying the communicative process and its products and could be used to develop and implement a training program focused on those skills in which individuals with ASD are most deficient.