Executive functions and mental health in students during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Executive functions (EF) are a set of higher-order cognitive processes that regulate thoughts, emotions, and actions. Adequate EF are required to deal with unexpected changes in daily routines, such as those that occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain healthy emotional and behavioral regulation. This study analyzed the EF and mental health of grade 3 to 5 schoolchildren (8-9 years old) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and sought to identify any variations and correlations between these two factors. Parents of students completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for emotional and behavioral screening, and the Inventory of Difficulties in Executive Functions, Regulation, and Delay Aversion for children (IFERA-I) to evaluate EF. The Wilcoxon test for paired samples was used to compare the differences between the variables before and during the pandemic and revealed problems in EF (inhibitory control: Z=-1.967; p=0.049; working memory: Z=-2.476; p=0.013; regulation: Z=-2.521; p=0.012) and in respect of the emotional symptoms' subscale of the SDQ (Z=-2.392; p=0.17). Using Spearman's correlation, significant associations were observed between worse mental health in children and greater problems with EF. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the emotional symptoms scale in the SDQ and problems with cognitive flexibility (ρ=0.600; p=0.002) and delay aversion (ρ=0.398; p=0.054) identifies by the IFERA-I. Our results highlight the need for the implementation of appropriate public policies that enable schools to stimulate the development of EF abilities to protect the mental health of children.