Friedman Naomi P, Haberstick Brett C, Willcutt Erik G, Miyake Akira, Young Susan E, Corley Robin P, Hewitt John K
Institute for Behavioral Genetics, 447 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Psychol Sci. 2007 Oct;18(10):893-900. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01997.x.
Attention problems (behavior problems including inattention, disorganization, impulsivity, and hyperactivity) are widely thought to reflect deficits in executive functions (EFs). However, it is unclear whether attention problems differentially relate to distinct EFs and how developmental stability and change predict levels of EFs in late adolescence. We investigated, in an unselected sample, how teacher-rated attention problems from ages 7 to 14 years related to three correlated but separable EFs, measured as latent variables at age 17. Attention problems at all ages significantly predicted later levels of response inhibition and working memory updating, and to some extent set shifting; the relation to inhibiting was stronger than the relations to the other EFs or IQ. Growth models indicated that attention problems were quite stable in this age range, and it was the initial levels of problems, rather than their changes across time, that predicted later EFs. These results support the hypothesis that attention problems primarily reflect difficulties with response inhibition.
注意力问题（包括注意力不集中、杂乱无章、冲动和多动等行为问题）被广泛认为反映了执行功能（EFs）的缺陷。然而，目前尚不清楚注意力问题与不同的执行功能之间是否存在差异关系，以及发展的稳定性和变化如何预测青少年晚期的执行功能水平。我们在一个未经筛选的样本中进行了调查，研究了7至14岁教师评定的注意力问题与17岁时作为潜在变量测量的三种相关但可分离的执行功能之间的关系。所有年龄段的注意力问题都显著预测了后期的反应抑制和工作记忆更新水平，并在一定程度上预测了任务转换能力；与抑制功能的关系比与其他执行功能或智商的关系更强。增长模型表明，在这个年龄范围内，注意力问题相当稳定，预测后期执行功能的是问题的初始水平，而非随时间的变化。这些结果支持了注意力问题主要反映反应抑制困难的假设。
