Executive Functions in Children From Low-Income Neighborhoods During Pandemic-Related School Closures: Evidence of Multidirectional Changes

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Seventeen
  In Roundtable Session: Stressors Affecting College Students (Table 14)

Abstract

In a sample of 369 children from low-income neighborhoods in Germany (Mage= 8.49 years; 50.41% female), we investigated how children’s executive functions (EFs) changed throughout a 6-months pandemic-related lockdown period including school closures and whether nurturing care protects their EFs. We used the Flanker/Reverse Flanker Task to assess children’s EFs (cognitive flexibility, effortful inhibition, selective attention) and asked home-room teachers about nurturing care by their families. Using multi-level modeling, we found that task performances requiring cognitive flexibility and effortful inhibition worsened, while selective attention improved. The deterioration in effortful inhibition occurred in children with lower levels of nurturing care only. Our study suggests multidirectional effects of pandemic-related adversity on different EF components of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.

Authors

• Julian Busch, TU Dortmund University
  Presenting Author

• Maike Graf, Ruhr University Bochum
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sandy Chwastek, Ruhr University Bochum
  Non-Presenting Author

• Birgit Leyendecker, Ruhr University Bochum
  Non-Presenting Author