Research has shown that animation plays an important role in the development of children’s executive function (EF), and the development of EF components, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, is asynchronous. Thus, this study explores the developmental trajectories and animation features (fantasy and pacing) that influence each EF component, by examining 218 children aged 4–7. Pretest information, mainly the childhood EF inventory, was provided by parents: child’s age, age of first exposure to animation, animation viewing time on weekdays and weekends, family income, and parents’ education. The children in each age group were randomly divided into four groups to watch animations comprised of different animation features. After watching, their EF were measured by a day-night task, backward digit-span task, and flexible item-selection task. The results showed that the children’s inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility levels all improved with age. Highly fantastical animations weakened children’s performance on each subsequent EF task. Pacing had no effect on any of the components of children’s EF. An interactive effect on inhibitory control was only found with fantasy in younger children; specifically, high-fantastical animations had a more pronounced short-lived weakening effect on inhibitory control in younger children (4–6 years) compared with low-fantastical animations. Future research should explore the long-term impact of content rather than the form of animation on younger children’s EF.
This study aimed to explore the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in preschool children and the mediating role of executive function (EF). A total of 361 parents of preschool children were surveyed using the self-reported Family Situation Questionnaire, the Child Executive Functioning Inventory, and the Child Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results revealed that (1) there were significant pairwise correlations between SES, EF and its dimensions, and ADHD, except for a non-significant correlation between SES and regulation ability; (2) after controlling for preschool children’s age and sex, SES directly predicted preschoolers’ ADHD and EF partially mediated the association between SES and ADHD; and (3) among the EF dimensions, working memory and inhibitory ability significantly mediated the association between SES and ADHD, whereas the mediating effect of regulatory ability was not significant. These results suggest that SES can affect the ADHD of preschoolers both directly and through EF, especially through working memory and inhibitory ability. This supports the family stress model and family investment model of the relationship between SES and the development of children to some extent, and provides a reference for the early prevention of ADHD in children with low SES.
Early childhood is a critical period for cognitive development and the emergence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Therefore, many researchers have explored the relationship between executive function and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young children. However, the findings have been inconsistent. This study used a cross-lagged survey to clarify the interaction between executive function and ADHD in early childhood as well as explore the trends of the same. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed to 376 parents of children aged 4–6 years in October 2018 (Time 1) and June 2019 (Time 2), with components including the Child Executive Functioning Scale (Parent Version) and Child Difficulty and Strengths Scale (Parent Version), and the mean age of the children surveyed at Time 1 was 58.96 ± 11.94 months. Results indicate that executive function and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were stable, with significant positive and secondary positive correlations between executive function and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The cross-lagged regression analysis showed that the inhibition of executive function components at Time 1 predicted the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at Time 2. Finally, the cross-lagged regression analysis showed that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at Time 1 significantly predicted the inhibition at Time 2. There was a strong relationship between inhibition and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the sample, with some reciprocal causality. The findings indicate the urgent need for early screening and intervention in cognitive and behavioral disorders.
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