Infant walking experience is related to the development of selective attention.

Previous studies have shown that the way in which infants perceive and explore the world changes as they transition from crawling to walking. Infant walking onset generally precedes advances in cognitive development such as accelerated language growth. However, the underlying mechanism explaining this association between walking experience and cognition is largely unknown.

Serial Order Effect in Divergent Thinking in Five- to Six-Year-Olds: Individual Differences as Related to Executive Functions.

This study examined the unfolding in real time of original ideas during divergent thinking (DT) in five- to six-year-olds and related individual differences in DT to executive functions (EFs). The Alternative Uses Task was administered with verbal prompts that encouraged children to report on their thinking processes while generating uses for daily objects. In addition to coding the originality of each use, the domain-specific DT processes memory retrieval and mental operations were coded from children's explanations.

Attentional Flexibility Predicts A-Not-B Task Performance in 14-Month-Old-Infants: A Head-Mounted Eye Tracking Study.

Early individual differences in executive functions (EFs) are predictive of a range of developmental outcomes. However, despite the importance of EFs, little is known about the processes underlying these early individual differences. Therefore, we investigated the association between 14-month-old infants' attention on a reaching version of the A-not-B task and task success.

Reciprocal relationships between nonword repetition and vocabulary during the preschool years.

The aim of this longitudinal study is to evaluate 3 views on the relationship between nonword repetition and vocabulary: (i) the storage-based view that considers nonword repetition, a measure of phonological storage, as the driving force behind vocabulary development, (ii) the lexical restructuring view that considers improvements in nonword repetition as the result of vocabulary growth, and (iii) the "combined" view that assumes that both storage-based learning and lexical restructuring play a role, resulting in reciprocal relationships between nonword repetition and vocabulary during language development. Data are analyzed from 471 monolingual Dutch children who performed tasks assessing nonword repetition and vocabulary at yearly intervals, from ages 2 to 5. Latent Change Score (LCS) modeling of Item Response Theory-scaled scores was used to investigate the relationships between nonword repetition and vocabulary growth over time.

Self-control, parenting, and problem behavior in early childhood: A multi-method, multi-informant study.

Background: Early childhood self-control and parenting are suggested to play key roles in the development of child problem behavior. The current study aims to 1) replicate earlier work by examining the unique and combined effects of child self-control and parenting on child problem behavior and 2) extend earlier work by including both mother and father reports.

Methods: Data were used from 107 Dutch families: mothers, fathers, and their two-year old child.

Early Executive Function at Age Two Predicts Emergent Mathematics and Literacy at Age Five.

Previous work has shown that individual differences in executive function (EF) are predictive of academic skills in preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children. Across studies, EF is a stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than literacy. However, research on EF in children below age three is scarce, and it is currently unknown whether EF, as assessed in toddlerhood, predicts emergent academic skills a few years later.

The link between motor and cognitive development in children born preterm and/or with low birth weight: A review of current evidence.

The current review focuses on evidence for a link between early motor development and later cognitive skills in children born preterm or with Low Birth Weight (LBW). Studies with term born children consistently show such a link. Motor and cognitive impairments or delays are often seen in children born preterm or with LBW throughout childhood and studies have established a cross-sectional association between the two.

Effects of Vocabulary and Phonotactic Probability on 2-Year-Olds' Nonword Repetition.

This study investigates the relationship between nonword repetition (NWR) and vocabulary in 2-year-olds. Questions addressed are whether (1) NWR and vocabulary are associated, (2) phonotactic probability affects NWR, and (3) there is an interaction effect between phonotactic probability and vocabulary on NWR performance. The general aim of the study is to investigate whether NWR, as a task of phonological storage, assesses the quality of phonological representations in children as young as 2 years of age.

Individual differences in effects of child care quality: The role of child affective self-regulation and gender.

The current study investigated whether the relation between child care quality and children's socio-emotional behavior depended on children's affective self-regulation skills and gender. Participants were 545 children (Mage=27 months) from 60 center-based child care centers in the Netherlands. Multi-level analyses showed that children with low affective self-regulation skills or who were male demonstrated less teacher-rated social competence when exposed to relatively low quality child care.

Psychometric properties and convergent and predictive validity of an executive function test battery for two-year-olds.

Executive function (EF) is an important predictor of numerous developmental outcomes, such as academic achievement and behavioral adjustment. Although a plethora of measurement instruments exists to assess executive function in children, only few of these are suitable for toddlers, and even fewer have undergone psychometric evaluation. The present study evaluates the psychometric properties and validity of an assessment battery for measuring EF in two-year-olds.

Executive functions in preschool children with externalizing behavior problems: a meta-analysis.

Deficits in executive functions (EF) have been found in school-age children and adolescents with externalizing behavior disorders. Present meta-analysis was carried out to determine whether these EF impairments can also be found in preschool children with externalizing behavior problems. Twenty-two studies were included with a total of 4021 children.

Processing speed mediates executive function difficulties in very preterm children in middle childhood.

Executive function and attention difficulties are reported in very preterm (VPT) children at school entry, but it is unclear if these remain at later ages and/or if these difficulties are mediated by more basic functions, such as processing speed. Processing speed has been shown to underlie academic and behavioral problems in VPT children in middle childhood (Mulder, Pitchford, & Marlow, 2010, 2011), so may also underpin executive function and attention difficulties. We investigated this by comparing VPT (gestational age <31 weeks; N = 56) to term children (N = 22) aged 9-10 years on a comprehensive battery of executive function and attention tasks from the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (Manly, Robertson, Anderson, & Nimmo-Smith, 1999) and NEPSY (Korkman, Kirk, & Kemp, 1998).

Inattentive behaviour is associated with poor working memory and slow processing speed in very pre-term children in middle childhood.

BACKGROUND. Problem behaviour is common following pre-term birth, but the underlying nature of these difficulties is not well known. AIMS.

Processing speed and working memory underlie academic attainment in very preterm children.

Aim: To study the impact of specific neuropsychological measures on academic attainment in very preterm (VPT) children.

Methods: VPT children (gestational age <31 weeks, N=48) and matched term controls (N=17) aged 9-10 years were assessed with measures of processing speed, executive function and IQ. Teachers reported on academic achievement in a questionnaire.

Development of executive function and attention in preterm children: a systematic review.

We report on a systematic review of studies of executive function and attention in preterm children. Using meta-analysis, we confirm this is an area of weakness for preterm children, and show that the extent of difficulties is influenced by gestational age (GA), age at test, and skill under investigation. Effect size for selective and sustained attention and inhibition is related to GA.