It is well known that curricular physical activity benefits children’s executive functions and academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether there is an influence of extracurricular sports on executive functions and academic performance. However, it is less known which specific types of the sport better enhance executive functions in children; to investigate this issue, this study compared the performance on executive functions tasks and academic performance in one hundred and two boys and girls with an average age of 11.84 years recruited from Italian schools and gyms (N = 102), who participated in martial arts or team sports or were sedentary children. Executive functions were measured with the tests: Attenzione e Concentrazione, Digit Span test, Tower of London, IOWA Gambling task BVN 5-11, and BVN 12-18. Results demonstrated that children practicing martial arts showed better executive functioning and higher school marks than those involved in team sports or not involved in any sports. Furthermore, participants aged 12 to 15 years old outperformed in cool and hot executive functions tasks and had a better academic performance. Thus, the present findings supported the view that regular practice of extracurricular sports enhances executive functions development and consequently influences academic performance.

Physical activity (PA) during childhood plays an important role in brain development. This role is played in both the structural domain, prefrontal cortex area, and in the functional domain, involving the higher cognitive functions, including the executive functions (EF). Working memory (WM), inhibition, and switching as fundamental EF were investigated in an Italian children sample before and after four months of an Enriched Sports Activities-Program (ESA-Program). EFs were assessed at pre-test and post-test using, respectively, the digit span test, the color word Stroop test, and the trail making test derived from Millisecond Software. The Italian sample was composed of 141 children aged 8.54 years. The intervention group (IG) was composed of 61 children and the control group (CG) of 80 children. Significant differences in WM (p < 0.05) were found in the IG following the ESA-Program intervention. Children’s performance improved both in forward digit span (FDS1 mean difference = 0.26; p = 0.04; FDS2 mean difference = 0.21; p = 0.01) and backward digit span (BDS2 mean difference = 0.14; p = 0.02). No significant improvements were observed for inhibition and switching processes (p > 0.05). Since this finding suggests that brain functioning is sensitive to lifestyle factors, such as PA, an essential goal for ESA-Program is to emphasize the importance of PA to enhance cognitive skills in childhood and prevent sedentary life.

This study aimed to investigate the maternal sense of competence and maternal burnout in Italian mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample was composed of 278 mothers of children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years old. Participants were recruited after the end of the first spring total Italian lockdown (June–October 2020) through online advertisements on websites and social media. We hypothesized a model in which a specific personality trait, such as neuroticism, affected maternal competence by the mediating role of maternal burnout. Results showed that neuroticism was directly and negatively predictive of perception of maternal competence, and it was negatively associated with maternal burnout, specifically specific antecedents that were strictly related to parental burnout. ANOVA results highlighted that the maternal level of education affected maternal competence in terms of satisfaction. In contrast, the working regimen during the first lockdown for COVID-19 affected maternal competence in terms of efficacy. Maternal burnout was affected by atypical child development in terms of both common (job burnout, stress management abilities) and specific (parental burnout) antecedents. COVID-19 strongly increased the risk of maternal burnout, resulting in mothers having a poor perception of their own competency. This is particularly the case in the presence of a neurotic personality.

Substantial empirical evidence supports the positive effects of physical activity (PA) on executive functions, but not all forms of physical activity benefit equally. Among kindergarteners, cognitively-engaging exercise seems to more strongly effect EF than simple exercise. We aimed to investigate several qualitatively different exercise formats on kindergarteners' inhibition. Participants were 75 children (M age = 68.1 months), recruited from 14 classrooms of three kindergarten schools. They were randomly assigned to three groups: control group, free play group (non-cognitively-engaging PA), and an intervention group (cognitively-engaging PA). The intervention group performed 18 sessions of a cognitively engaging PA (tasks requiring movements and inhibitory behavior skills). We assessed “hot” and “cool” aspects of inhibition using the Day-Night Stroop test, Head-Shoulders-Knees-Toes, Gift Wrap, and Snack Delay. We found that the intervention group obtained a more consistent performance improvement on post-test measures of hot and cool inhibition than did the free play group.

Background. The limitations imposed by governments for containing the spread of COVID-19 have affected familial relationships, especially those of families dealing with children with special needs or chronic illness conditions. The current study aims to better understand what pathological/disability condition has impacted parental resources, sense of competence, and perception of children’s executive functioning the most. Methods. A sample of 648 parents was asked to answer a survey assessing children’s condition (typical development, specific learning disorder, autism spectrum syndrome, chronic illness), parental resources, parenting sense of competence (distinguished into parental satisfaction and self-efficacy), and parents’ perception of their children’s executive functioning. A MANOVA model was performed to assess differences in parental resources, sense of competence, and perception of the children’s executive functions according to their condition. A path analysis model was performed to examine the impact of sense of competence and children’s condition on parental resources and children’s executive functions. Results. Parents with children with specific learning disorder reported lower scores of parental resources in terms of total scores, common antecedents, and specific antecedents compared to parents with typically developed children (total scores: MD = 56.45, p < 0.001; common antecedents: MD = 22.28, p < 0.00; specific antecedents: MD = 34.17, p < 0.001), parents with autistic children (total scores: MD = 62.79, p = 0.01; common antecedents: MD = 24.03, p = 0.01; specific antecedents: MD = 38.76, p = 0.02) and parents of children with chronic illness (total scores: MD = 37.42, p = 0.04; common antecedents: MD = 16.59, p = 0.01). The path analysis model shows a direct effect of parental satisfaction (β = 0.26) and pathology/disability (β = −0.10) on parental resources that, in turn, influence parents’ perception of their children’s executive functioning (β = 0.24). Conclusion. Although no data about the prepandemic situation is available, the current study highlights that parental stress influence children’s cognition. Moreover, parents of children with special needs seemed to be challenged during COVID-19, especially parents of children with specific learning disorders, that are already stressed out by their children’s condition. Therefore, academic services should undertake preventive measures to preserve parental well-being and to provide a supportive environment for children, especially for those with atypical development.