Development of executive functioning in school-age Tunisian children

Research regarding executive functioning (EF) in children rarely focuses on populations in African or Middle-Eastern Arabic-speaking countries. The current study used a cross-sectional design to examine the developmental trajectories of school-age Tunisian children in three domains of executive control (inhibition of prepotent responses, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) as well as their mutual interactions and the effects of gender and parents’ education level. Inhibitory processes, cognitive flexibility, and working memory were assessed using the Stroop test, a version of the Hayling test adapted for children, simple and alternating tasks of verbal fluency, and verbal and visuospatial span tasks (forward and backward spans). The study population included 120 7- to 12-year-old Tunisian children (60 girls, 60 boys) who were grouped and matched for age, gender, and parents’ education level. The results revealed an overall effect of age on executive performance, whereas gender and parents’ education level showed non-significant effects. In addition, executive indices were significantly associated with fluid intelligence level. Partial correlation analyses (controlled for age) found significant links between indices that assessed the same executive process, except for inhibitory processes; the temporal indices for inhibitory processes showed relative independence. The correlations between indices that assessed distinct executive processes were weaker (but significant). Overall, the results suggest that executive components in school-age Tunisian children operate according to relatively homogeneous developmental trajectories, marked by peaks of maturity that differ according to the assessed index. A transcultural approach to EF is discussed in terms of the unity and diversity of its components.

[1]  H. Werner,et al.  Interference effects of Stroop color-word test in childhood, adulthood, and aging. , 1962, The Journal of genetic psychology.

[2]  Philip M. Corsi.  Human memory and the medial temporal region of the brain. , 1972 .

[3]  M. Posner.  Chronometric explorations of mind : the third Paul M. Fitts lectures, delivered at the University of Michigan, September 1976 , 1978 .

[4]  A. Luria.  Higher Cortical Functions in Man , 1980, Springer US.

[5]  T. Shallice.  Specific impairments of planning. , 1982, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[6]  K. White.  The relation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. , 1982 .

[7]  R. Wozniak,et al.  Speech-Action Coordination in Young Children. , 1984 .

[8]  J. Teachman.  Family background, educational resources, and educational attainment. , 1987 .

[9]  G. Hynd,et al.  Neuropsychological development of nonverbal behaviors attributed to “frontal lobe” functioning , 1987 .

[10]  O. Koenig.  Hemispheric asymmetry in the analysis of stroop stimuli: A developmental approach , 1989 .

[11]  Richard J. Brown.  Neuropsychology Mental Structure , 1989 .

[12]  Colin M. Macleod.  Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: an integrative review. , 1991, Psychological bulletin.

[13]  J. Fletcher,et al.  Developmental changes in performance on tests of purported frontal lobe functioning , 1991 .

[14]  Bruce F. Pennington,et al.  A normative‐developmental study of executive function: A window on prefrontal function in children , 1991 .

[15]  F. N. Dempster,et al.  The rise and fall of the inhibitory mechanism: Toward a unified theory of cognitive development and aging , 1992 .

[16]  Diane F. Halpern,et al.  Sex differences in cognitive abilities, 2nd ed. , 1992 .

[17]  K. Boone,et al.  Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in healthy, older adults: relationship to age, sex, education, and IQ. , 1993, Journal of clinical psychology.

[18]  C. Baker.  Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism , 1993 .

[19]  Paul J. Eslinger,et al.  Frontal lobe and frontal-striatal substrates for different forms of human cognitive flexibility , 1993, Neuropsychologia.

[20]  Alex Martin,et al.  Word retrieval to letter and semantic cues: A double dissociation in normal subjects using interference tasks , 1994, Neuropsychologia.

[21]  A. Diamond,et al.  The relationship between cognition and action: performance of children 3 1 2 –7 years old on a stroop- like day-night test , 1994, Cognition.

[22]  A. Ardila,et al.  Development of language, memory, and visuospatial abilities in 5‐ to 12‐year‐old children using a neuropsychological battery , 1994 .

[23]  G. Hynd,et al.  Executive function and the Wisconsin card sorting test: Relationship with behavioral ratings and cognitive ability , 1994 .

[24]  D. Bjorklund,et al.  The evolution of inhibition mechanisms and their role in human cognition and behavior , 1995 .

[25]  M. Denckla,et al.  A theory and model of executive function: A neuropsychological perspective. , 1996 .

[26]  Tim Shallice,et al.  Bizarre Responses, Rule Detection and Frontal Lobe Lesions , 1996, Cortex.

[27]  J. Hodges,et al.  Generating ‘tiger’ as an animal name or a word beginning with T: differences in brain activation , 1996, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[28]  Peter J. Anderson,et al.  The Tower of London Test: Validation and standardization for pediatric populations. , 1996 .

[29]  J. Lehto.  Are Executive Function Tests Dependent on Working Memory Capacity? , 1996 .

[30]  G. Dellatolas,et al.  Phonological and semantic fluency in children aged 5 to 8 , 1996 .

[31]  R. Barkley.  Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. , 1997, Psychological bulletin.

[32]  S Hale,et al.  Verbal and spatial working memory in school-age children: developmental differences in susceptibility to interference. , 1997, Developmental psychology.

[33]  D. Lu.  Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (2nd ed.) , 1997 .

[34]  Tim Shallice,et al.  The Hayling and Brixton Tests , 1997 .

[35]  L. Hasher,et al.  Cognitive gerontology and attentional inhibition: a reply to Burke and McDowd. , 1997, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[36]  T. C. Lorsbach,et al.  Developmental differences in the ability to inhibit the initial misinterpretation of garden path passages. , 1998, Journal of experimental child psychology.

[37]  D. Green,et al.  Lemma selection without inhibition of languages in bilingual speakers , 1998, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

[38]  Claire Hughes,et al.  Executive function in preschoolers: Links with theory of mind and verbal ability , 1998 .

[39]  M. Lovell,et al.  Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance in above average and superior school children: relationship to intelligence and age. , 1998, Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists.

[40]  G. Ratcliff,et al.  Effects of Literacy and Education on Measures of Word Fluency , 1998, Brain and Language.

[41]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 1998 .

[42]  E. Bialystok.  Cognitive Complexity and Attentional Control in the Bilingual Mind , 1999 .

[43]  G. Logan,et al.  Development of inhibitory control across the life span. , 1999, Developmental psychology.

[44]  Erminio Capitani,et al.  Gender Affects Word Retrieval of Certain Categories in Semantic Fluency Tasks , 1999, Cortex.

[45]  M. W. Nazel,et al.  Schistosoma mansoni infection and cognitive functions of primary school children, in Kafr El Sheikh, Egypt. , 1999, The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association.

[46]  G. Gioia,et al.  TEST REVIEW Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function , 2000 .

[47]  M. J. Emerson,et al.  The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis , 2000, Cognitive Psychology.

[48]  Lynn Hasher,et al.  Working memory, inhibitory control, and reading disability , 2000, Memory & cognition.

[49]  J. Nici,et al.  A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests, 2nd ed , 2000 .

[50]  A. Ardila,et al.  Correlation between intelligence test scores and executive function measures. , 2000, Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists.

[51]  G. Gioia,et al.  Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Function , 2000 .

[52]  Y. Ganzach.  Parents' education, cognitive ability, educational expectations and educational attainment: interactive effects. , 2000, The British journal of educational psychology.

[53]  N. Raz.  Aging of the brain and its impact on cognitive performance: Integration of structural and functional findings. , 2000 .

[54]  Diane F. Halpern,et al.  Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities. Third Edition. , 2000 .

[55]  D. Riva,et al.  Developmental Aspects of Verbal Fluency and Confrontation Naming in Children , 2000, Brain and Language.

[56]  Marit Korkman,et al.  Introduction to the Special Issue on Normal Neuropsychological Development in the School-Age Years , 2001, Developmental neuropsychology.

[57]  G. Scerif,et al.  Executive Functioning as a Predictor of Children's Mathematics Ability: Inhibition, Switching, and Working Memory , 2001, Developmental neuropsychology.

[58]  Ellen Bialystok,et al.  Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy, and cognition. , 2001 .

[59]  Vicki A. Anderson,et al.  Development of Executive Functions Through Late Childhood and Adolescence in an Australian Sample , 2001, Developmental neuropsychology.

[60]  M. Korkman,et al.  Differential Development of Attention and Executive Functions in 3- to 12-Year-Old Finnish Children , 2001, Developmental neuropsychology.

[61]  Ellen Bialystok.  Bilingualism In Development: Faces of Bilingualism , 2001 .

[62]  L. Moses,et al.  Individual differences in inhibitory control and children's theory of mind. , 2001, Child development.

[63]  L. Bedore,et al.  Category-generation performance of bilingual children: the influence of condition, category, and language. , 2002, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[64]  A. Diamond.  Normal development of prefrontal cortex from birth to young adulthood: Cognitive functions, anatomy, and biochemistry. , 2002 .

[65]  Youngihm Kwon,et al.  Western Influences in Korean Preschool Education , 2002 .

[66]  Hans Forssberg,et al.  Increased Brain Activity in Frontal and Parietal Cortex Underlies the Development of Visuospatial Working Memory Capacity during Childhood , 2002, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[67]  Claire Hughes,et al.  Measuring executive functions in childhood: Problems and solutions? , 2002 .

[68]  C. Armengol.  Stroop Test in Spanish: Children’s Norms , 2002, The Clinical neuropsychologist.

[69]  M. Welsh.  Developmental and clinical variations in executive functions. , 2002 .

[70]  Gary H. Glover,et al.  A Developmental fMRI Study of the Stroop Color-Word Task , 2002, NeuroImage.

[71]  C. Hertzman,et al.  Neighborhood income and physical and social disorder in Canada: associations with young children's competencies. , 2002, Child development.

[72]  Linda J. Schuerholz,et al.  Effects of IQ on Executive Function Measures in Children with ADHD , 2002, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[73]  G. Bohlin,et al.  Response Inhibition, Hyperactivity, and Conduct Problems Among Preschool Children , 2002, Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53.

[74]  Tim Shallice,et al.  Executive Function Profile of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder , 2002, Developmental neuropsychology.

[75]  Vivian Tseng,et al.  Parenting of Asians. , 2002 .

[76]  I. Gottesman,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS MODIFIES HERITABILITY OF IQ , 2022 .

[77]  E. Hoff.  Causes and consequences of SES-related differences in parent-to-child speech. , 2003 .

[78]  E. Hoff.  The specificity of environmental influence: socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. , 2003, Child development.

[79]  L. Pulkkinen,et al.  Dimensions of executive functioning: Evidence from children , 2003 .

[80]  A. Ardila,et al.  Verbal and Nonverbal Fluency in Spanish-Speaking Children , 2004, Developmental neuropsychology.

[81]  G. Bohlin,et al.  Executive Functions in Children Aged 6 to 13: A Dimensional and Developmental Study , 2004, Developmental neuropsychology.

[82]  Kimberly Andrews Espy,et al.  Using Path Analysis to Understand Executive Function Organization in Preschool Children , 2004, Developmental neuropsychology.

[83]  D. Yves von Cramon,et al.  Prefrontal activation due to Stroop interference increases during development—an event-related fNIRS study , 2004, NeuroImage.

[84]  Norbert K Tanzer,et al.  Bias and equivalence , 2000 .

[85]  J. Fisk,et al.  Age-Related Impairment in Executive Functioning: Updating, Inhibition, Shifting, and Access , 2004, Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology.

[86]  F. Craik,et al.  Executive function across the life span. , 2004, Acta psychologica.

[87]  A. Miyake,et al.  The relations among inhibition and interference control functions: a latent-variable analysis. , 2004, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[88]  B. Ambridge,et al.  The structure of working memory from 4 to 15 years of age. , 2004, Developmental psychology.

[89]  T. Klingberg,et al.  Maturation of White Matter is Associated with the Development of Cognitive Functions during Childhood , 2004, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[90]  P Lestage,et al.  Verbal fluency output in children aged 7–16 as a function of the production criterion: Qualitative analysis of clustering, switching processes, and semantic network exploitation , 2004, Brain and Language.

[91]  L. Speedie.  Neuropsychological evaluation of the child , 2004 .

[92]  Esmeralda Matute,et al.  The Influence of the Parents' Educational Level on the Development of Executive Functions , 2005, Developmental neuropsychology.

[93]  Philip David Zelazo,et al.  Assessment of Hot and Cool Executive Function in Young Children: Age-Related Changes and Individual Differences , 2005, Developmental neuropsychology.

[94]  A. Berger,et al.  Analysis of word clustering in verbal fluency of school-aged children. , 2005, Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists.

[95]  Catalina J. Hooper,et al.  The development of nonverbal working memory and executive control processes in adolescents. , 2005, Child development.

[96]  Conor V. Dolan,et al.  Source (or Part of the following Source): Type Article Title Age-related Change in Executive Function: Developmental Trends and a Latent Variable Analysis Author(s) Age-related Change in Executive Function: Developmental Trends and a Latent Variable Analysis , 2022 .

[97]  C. Blair.  How similar are fluid cognition and general intelligence? A developmental neuroscience perspective on fluid cognition as an aspect of human cognitive ability. , 2006, The Behavioral and brain sciences.

[98]  Beatriz Luna,et al.  Cognitive processes in the development of TOL performance , 2006, Neuropsychologia.

[99]  T. Meulemans.  Les fonctions exécutives : approche théorique , 2006 .

[100]  Stephanie M. Carlson,et al.  The Development of Executive Functioning and Theory of Mind , 2006, Psychological science.

[101]  G. Kavé,et al.  The Development of Naming and Word Fluency: Evidence From Hebrew-Speaking Children Between Ages 8 and 17 , 2006, Developmental neuropsychology.

[102]  Beatriz Luna,et al.  Brain Basis of Developmental Change in Visuospatial Working Memory , 2006, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[103]  S. Arffa.  The relationship of intelligence to executive function and non-executive function measures in a sample of average, above average, and gifted youth. , 2007, Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists.

[104]  Margarita Kaushanskaya,et al.  The Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q): assessing language profiles in bilinguals and multilinguals. , 2007, Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR.

[105]  C. Lewis,et al.  Korean preschoolers' advanced inhibitory control and its relation to other executive skills and mental state understanding. , 2008, Child development.

[106]  G. Espinosa,et al.  Fluencia verbal en niños españoles en edad escolar: estudio normativo piloto y análisis de las estrategias organizativas , 2008 .

[107]  G. Kavé,et al.  Switching and clustering in verbal fluency tasks throughout childhood , 2008, Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology.

[108]  M. D’Esposito.  Working memory. , 2008, Handbook of clinical neurology.

[109]  Elizabeth A. Olson,et al.  The development of prefrontal cortex functions in adolescence: theoretical models and a possible dissociation of dorsal versus ventral subregions , 2008 .

[110]  T. Toulopoulou,et al.  Assessment of executive functions: review of instruments and identification of critical issues. , 2008, Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists.

[111]  A. Meltzoff,et al.  Bilingual experience and executive functioning in young children. , 2008, Developmental science.

[112]  Masuo Koyasu,et al.  Culture, executive function, and social understanding. , 2009, New directions for child and adolescent development.

[113]  P. H. Miller,et al.  Executive Functions after Age 5: Changes and Correlates. , 2009, Developmental review : DR.

[114]  J. Carpendale,et al.  Social interaction and the development of executive function , 2009 .

[115]  Kevin J. Grimm,et al.  The contributions of ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ executive function to children's academic achievement, learning-related behaviors, and engagement in kindergarten , 2009 .

[116]  J. Jolles,et al.  Developmental Changes in Semantic Verbal Fluency: Analyses of Word Productivity as a Function of Time, Clustering, and Switching , 2010, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[117]  E. Bialystok,et al.  Effect of language proficiency and executive control on verbal fluency performance in bilinguals , 2010, Cognition.

[118]  G. J. Robertson.  Raven's Progressive Matrices , 2010 .

[119]  R. Allegri,et al.  Verbal Fluency in Spanish-Speaking Children: Analysis Model According to Task Type, Clustering, and Switching Strategies and Performance Over Time , 2011, The Clinical neuropsychologist.

[120]  M. Lieberman,et al.  Children's word fluency strategies. , 2011, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[121]  Keith A. Markus,et al.  Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling by Rex B. Kline , 2012 .

[122]  M. C. Richaud de Minzi,et al.  A Structural Analysis of Executive Functions and Socioeconomic Status in School-Age Children: Cognitive Factors as Effect Mediators , 2012, The Journal of genetic psychology.

[123]  Annemarie H. Hindman,et al.  The Contributions of Parental Management Language to Executive Function in Preschool Children. , 2013, Early childhood research quarterly.

[124]  E. Bialystok,et al.  Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. , 2013, Journal of experimental child psychology.

[125]  M. Talarowska,et al.  [Are there any differences in the working memory of men and women?]. , 2013, Polski merkuriusz lekarski : organ Polskiego Towarzystwa Lekarskiego.

[126]  W. Spijkers,et al.  Development of neuropsychological functions of attention in two cultures: A cross-cultural study of attentional performances of Syrian and German children of pre-school and school age , 2013 .

[127]  Sunila John,et al.  Word retrieval ability on semantic fluency task in typically developing Malayalam-speaking children , 2014, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[128]  A. Soliman.  Bilingual advantages of working memory revisited: A latent variable examination , 2014 .

[129]  R. A. Moawad,et al.  Executive Function Differences Between Bilingual Arabic–English and Monolingual Arabic Children , 2015, Journal of psycholinguistic research.

[130]  Federica Scarpina,et al.  The Stroop Color and Word Test , 2017, Front. Psychol..