3-124 - Socio-contextual Influences on the Development of Executive Functioning in Early Childhood

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Executive functioning (EF) is the ability to manage higher cognitive processes and begins to develop in early childhood. It is well-established that EF is a strong predictor of positive academic, vocational and social outcomes. However, in order to understand how to support these emerging cognitive abilities, it is important to examine what factors contribute to acquiring these essential skills as well as to identify factors that disrupt EF development. Environmental influences on preschool-aged children’s EF skills are systematically explored in this symposium. The first paper investigates the deleterious effects of chronic physiological stress and poverty on different EF domains and assesses how parental factors can positively influence children’s EF. In the second paper, the detrimental outcomes of neighborhood chaos on children’s effortful control is explained by harsh discipline, demonstrating the possibility of improving EF-related skills through promoting better parenting strategies. The third paper emphasizes the importance of understanding how indices of household chaos have different effects on children’s EF depending on their socio-economic contexts. The fourth paper explores the relationship of subjective and objective measures of children’s physical activity to multiple constructs of EF to better understand the protective role of aerobic exercise for successful EF. Collectively, these papers highlight the importance of supporting EF in early childhood, a sensitive period when EF is building rapidly, and emphasizes how vulnerable EF is to early contextual influences. Findings have the capacity to inform targeted interventions by focusing on increasing protective factors of EF early in life to improve these lifelong skills.

Sub Unit

• Attention, Learning, Memory

Chair

• Katie Kao, Boston University

Individual Presentations

• The Influence of Chronic Physiological Stress, Poverty, and Parent Executive Function on Children’s Executive Function - Presenting Author: Katie Kao, Boston University; Jerrold S Meyer, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Stacey N Doan, Boston University; Sonja Jasinski, Boston University; Amanda R Tarullo, Boston University

• Neighborhood Chaos & Children’s Effortful Control: The Role of Parental Discipline - Presenting Author: Michael A Skibo, University of Rochester; Melissa L Sturge-Apple, University of Rochester; Jennifer H Suor, University of Rochester

• Observed Indicators and Parental Perceptions of Family Chaos: Relationships with income and executive functions in young children - Presenting Author: Eric Daniel Finegood, New York University; Clancy Blair, New York University

• Physical Activity and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Higher Activity Levels are Associated with Cognitive Benefits - Presenting Author: Lisa Schlueter McFadyen-Ketchum, University of Denver; Sarah E Watamura, University of Denver