The Assessment of Executive Functioning in Children

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link:http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/12074/ Link to published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j. 1475-3588.2010.00557.x Copyright and reuse: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. BackgroundExecutive functions are 'those skills necessary for purposeful, goal-directed activity'(Anderson, 1998), required for the successful achievement of complex, higher order 2 cognitive goals, including planning future actions, keeping these plans in mind until executed, problem-solving, self-monitoring to check on progress, mental flexibility, and the ability to inhibit irrelevant actions.Executive control is a prominent part of the influential multicomponent model of working memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974;Baddeley, 1986Baddeley, , 2000Baddeley, , 2007 and involves focusing, dividing and switching attention. Executive abilities are increasingly regarded as at least partly 'fractionated' or divided (e.g. Lehto, 1996) into separate subcomponents that are, nevertheless, loosely related to each other (Anderson, 2002;Fisk & Sharp, 2004;Garon, Bryson, & Smith, 2008;Huizinga, Dolan, & van der Molen, 2006;Lehto et al., 2003;Miyake et al., 2000). Executive control is not used during routine (automatised) tasks (Shallice, 1990), but for demanding tasks that involve novelty. Measuring executive functioning in childrenThis review will focus on five standardised batteries of executive functioning (see Table 1 at the end of the paper for a summary) designed for school-age children (for information on executive functions in preschoolers, see Garon et al., 2008). Verbal Verbal domainVerbal fluency (e.g. Thurstone Word Fluency Test, Thurstone, 1938;Milner, 1964) Note that category and letter fluency have been linked to different brain areas (Martin et al., 1994;Schwartz et al., 2003), implying that different mechanisms may underlie performance.Inhibition is often measured using the Stroop Test (Stroop, 1935)

Executive, Emotional, and Language Functioning Following Childhood Maltreatment and the Influence of Pediatric PTSD

“…Two major functions hypothesized to be particularly vulnerable are executive and language abilities, with executive functioning primarily associated with the prefrontal cortex and associated white matter tracts, with language functions involved in a range of brain areas, predominantly in the left cerebral cortex (Blumenfeld 2001;De Bellis et al 2011;Pechtel and Pizzagalli 2011;Wilson et al 2011). Executive functions are self-regulatory actions to achieve goals, such as those actions of planning and problem solving, cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, working memory, processing fluency, and attention (Anderson 2002;Barkley 2012;Baron 2004;Henry and Bettenay 2010;Mahone and Slomine 2007;Willcutt 2010). Neuropsychological research has supported these hypotheses, identifying executive and language impairments in childhood maltreatment victims DePrince et al 2009;De Bellis et al 2009;De Bellis et al 2013;Fishbein et al 2009;Kavanaugh et al 2013;Kocovska et al 2012;Nolin and Ethier 2007;Samuelson et al 2010;Spann et al 2012;Stacks et al 2011;Sylvestre and Merette 2010).…”

“…Because the scoring criteria remained consistent in the transition from RCMAS-1 to RCMAS-2, along with comparable clinical subscales, it was deemed appropriate to include these cases. Planning/Problem Solving The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a test of executive function that assesses skills in abstraction, shifting and maintaining focus, goal orientation, and impulse control (Baron 2004;Henry and Bettenay 2010;Strauss et al 2006;Willcutt 2010). This study used the following WCST scores: Amount of categories achieved (WCST Categories), failures to maintain set (WCST FMS), and perseverative errors (WCST Perseverative Errors).…”

“…Set Shifting/Cognitive Flexibility The Trail Making Test (TMT) is a neuropsychological instrument that assesses attention, speed and cognitive flexibility (Baron 2004;Henry and Bettenay 2010;Strauss et al 2006). It consists of two versions that are administered consecutively to the client.…”

Executive Difficulties in Developmental Coordination Disorder: Methodological Issues and Future Directions

“…Studies from adult neuropsychological patients highlight two further executive processes related to frontal lobe functioning [11]: planning, which involves developing goals, monitoring performance and adjusting behaviour in order to achieve these goals, and fluency, which is the ability to generate a number of responses around a particular theme, thus testing the efficiency of search processes and creative thinking [12]. It is the broader view of these five executive functions that will be considered in the following review.…”

Executive Functioning, Motor Difficulties, and Developmental Coordination Disorder

“…This term covers a range of highlevel abilities, including planning, switching between tasks, inhibiting responses and storing information in memory while processing another task (Henry & Bettenay, 2010;Hill, 2004 & Howerter, 2000), the present study also assesses two further aspects of EF, planning and fluency, which have traditionally been studied in research with frontal lobe patients and those with other neurodevelopmental disorders (Pennington & Ozonoff, 1996).…”