Intervention studies indicate that children’s childcare experiences can be leveraged to support the development of executive functioning (EF). The role of more normative childcare experiences is less clear. Increasingly, theory and empirical work suggest that individual differences in children’s physiological stress systems may be associated with meaningful differences in the way they experience these early environments. Using data from a large population-based sample of predominantly low-income rural families, we tested the degree to which children’s childcare experiences—quantity, quality, and type—in the first 3 years of life predicted emerging EF. Moreover, we examined whether these effects varied as a function of children’s basal cortisol levels in infancy and toddlerhood— an indicator of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis stress physiology. Our results showed that higher quality care predicted more effective EF at 48 months, irrespective of quantity or type. This relation did not vary as a function of children’s early cortisol levels. Attending greater hours of care per week was also related to EF; however—consistent with theory—the positive association between spending more time in childcare and more positive EF extended only to children with low levels of basal cortisol at 7 or 24 months of age. Attending center-based care was unassociated with EF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
UR - http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/a0034700 JO - Developmental Psychology ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The measurement of executive function at age 5: Psychometric properties and relationship to academic achievement. JF - Psychological Assessment Y1 - 2012 A1 - Michael T. Willoughby A1 - Clancy Blair A1 - Wirth, R. J. A1 - Mark T. Greenberg AB -This study examined the psychometric properties and criterion validity of a newly developed battery of executive function (EF) tasks for use in early childhood. The battery was included in the Family Life Project (FLP), a prospective longitudinal study of families who were oversampled from low-income and African American families at the birth of a new child (N = 1,292). Ninety-nine percent (N = 1,036) of children who participated in the age 5 home visit completed 1 or more (M = 5.8, Mdn = 6) of the 6 EF tasks. Results indicated that tasks worked equally well for children residing in low-income and not low-income homes, that task scores were most informative about the ability level of children in the low-average range, that performance on EF tasks was best characterized by a single factor, and that individual differences on the EF battery were strongly related to a latent variable measuring overall academic achievement, as well as to individual standardized tests that measured phonological awareness, letter–word identification, and early math skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
VL - 24 UR - http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/a0025361 IS - 1 JO - Psychological Assessment ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol in infancy and toddlerhood: Direct and indirect relations with executive functioning and academic ability in childhood JF - Psychoneuroendocrinology Y1 - 2012 A1 - Berry, Daniel A1 - Clancy Blair A1 - Michael T. Willoughby A1 - Granger, Douglas A. KW - Academic achievement KW - Early childhood KW - executive function KW - Salivary alpha-amylase KW - Salivary cortisol AB -Using data from a predominantly low-income, population-based prospective longitudinal sample of 1292 children followed from birth, indicators of children's autonomic (salivary alpha-amylase; sAA) and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis (salivary cortisol) activity at 7, 15, and 24 months of age were found to predict executive functioning at 36-months and academic achievement in pre-kindergarten. The findings suggested that the respective cortisol and sAA effects on executive functioning and academic achievement were interactive. Optimal developmental outcomes were associated with asymmetrical cortisol/sAA profiles. Higher cortisol levels were predictive of lower executive functioning and academic abilities, but only for those with concurrently moderate to high levels of sAA. In contrast, higher sAA concentrations were predictive of better executive functioning and academic abilities, but only for those with concurrently moderate to low levels of cortisol. These relations were statistically identical across infancy and toddlerhood. The conditional effects of cortisol and sAA on pre-kindergarten academic achievement were mediated fully by links between these early physiological indicators and executive functioning.
VL - 37 UR - http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306453012000881 IS - 10 JO - Psychoneuroendocrinology ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Demographic and familial predictors of early executive function development: Contribution of a person-centered perspective JF - Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Y1 - 2011 A1 - Rhoades, Brittany L. A1 - Mark T. Greenberg A1 - Lanza, Stephanie T. A1 - Clancy Blair KW - executive function KW - Low-income KW - Parent–child interactions KW - Person-centered KW - Profiles KW - Risk AB -Executive function (EF) skills are integral components of young children’s growing competence, but little is known about the role of early family context and experiences in their development. We examined how demographic and familial risks during infancy predicted EF competence at 36 months of age in a large, predominantly low-income sample of nonurban families from Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the United States. Using latent class analysis, six ecological risk profiles best captured the diverse experiences of these families. Profiles with various combinations of family structure, income, and psychosocial risks were differentially related to EF. Much of the influence of early risks on later EF appears to be transmitted through quality of parent–child interactions during infancy. Findings suggest that early family environments may prove to be especially fruitful contexts for the promotion of EF development.
VL - 108 UR - http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022096510001633 IS - 3 JO - Journal of Experimental Child Psychology ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Salivary Cortisol Mediates Effects of Poverty and Parenting on Executive Functions in Early Childhood JF - Child Development Y1 - 2011 A1 - Clancy Blair A1 - Granger, Douglas A. A1 - Michael T. Willoughby A1 - Mills-Koonce, Roger A1 - Cox, Martha A1 - Mark T. Greenberg A1 - Kivlighan, Katie T. A1 - Fortunato, Christine K. AB -In a predominantly low-income population-based longitudinal sample of 1,292 children followed from birth, higher level of salivary cortisol assessed at ages 7, 15, and 24 months was uniquely associated with lower executive function ability and to a lesser extent IQ at age 3 years. Measures of positive and negative aspects of parenting and household risk were also uniquely related to both executive functions and IQ. The effect of positive parenting on executive functions was partially mediated through cortisol. Typical or resting level of cortisol was increased in African American relative to White participants. In combination with positive and negative parenting and household risk, cortisol mediated effects of income-to-need, maternal education, and African American ethnicity on child cognitive ability.
VL - 82 UR - http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/cdev.2011.82.issue-6http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01643.x IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The measurement of executive function at age 3 years: Psychometric properties and criterion validity of a new battery of tasks. JF - Psychological Assessment Y1 - 2010 A1 - Michael T. Willoughby A1 - Clancy Blair A1 - Wirth, R. J. A1 - Mark T. Greenberg AB -In this study, the authors examined the psychometric properties and criterion validity of a newly developed battery of tasks that were designed to assess executive function (EF) abilities in early childhood. The battery was included in the 36-month assessment of the Family Life Project (FLP), a prospective longitudinal study of 1,292 children oversampled from low-income and African American families. Ninety-one percent of children were able to complete 1 or more of the tasks. Psychometric analyses were used to test the dimensionality of each task, evaluate the item and task properties, test the dimensionality of the task battery, and evaluate the criterion validity of the battery with multi-informant measures of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology and child performance on two subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Results indicated that the tasks were successful in measuring interindividual differences in child EF ability, that task scores were most informative about ability level for children in the low to moderate range of ability, that children's performance across the entire battery was adequately summarized by a single factor, and that individual differences on the EF battery were related to ADHD symptomatology and intelligence in expected ways. Results are discussed with respect to the importance of developing psychometrically sound, scalable instruments that facilitate the measurement of interindividual differences in intraindividual change of EF across the early childhood period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
VL - 22 UR - http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/a0018708 IS - 2 JO - Psychological Assessment ER -