MacKinnon McQuarrie Maureen A, Siegel Linda S, Perry Nancy E, Weinberg Joanne
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
J Learn Disabil. 2014 Jul-Aug;47(4):349-65. doi: 10.1177/0022219412463436. Epub 2012 Nov 2.
This study investigated the relationship among working memory, processing speed, math performance, and reactivity to stress in 83 Grade 1 children. Specifically, 39 children with math disability (MD) were compared to 44 children who are typically achieving (TA) in mathematics. It is the first study to use a physiological index of stress (salivary cortisol levels) to measure children's reactivity while completing tasks that assess the core components of MD: working memory for numbers, working memory for words, digits backward, letter number sequence, digit span forward, processing speed for numbers and words, block rotation, and math tasks. Grade 1 children with MD obtained significantly lower scores on the letter number sequence and quantitative concepts tasks. Higher levels of reactivity significantly predicted poorer performance on the working memory for numbers, working memory for words, and quantitative concepts tasks for Grade 1 children, regardless of math ability. Grade 1 children with MD and higher reactivity had significantly lower scores on the letter number sequence task than the children with MD and low reactivity. The findings suggest that high reactivity impairs performance in working memory and math tasks in Grade 1 children, and young children with high reactivity may benefit from interventions aimed at lowering anxiety in stressful situations, which may improve learning.
本研究调查了83名一年级儿童的工作记忆、处理速度、数学成绩以及对压力的反应之间的关系。具体而言，将39名有数学障碍（MD）的儿童与44名数学成绩正常（TA）的儿童进行了比较。这是第一项使用压力生理指标（唾液皮质醇水平）来测量儿童在完成评估MD核心成分的任务时的反应的研究：数字工作记忆、单词工作记忆、倒背数字、字母数字排序、顺背数字广度、数字和单词的处理速度、积木旋转以及数学任务。患有MD的一年级儿童在字母数字排序和定量概念任务上的得分显著更低。更高水平的反应性显著预测了一年级儿童在数字工作记忆、单词工作记忆和定量概念任务上的较差表现，无论其数学能力如何。患有MD且反应性较高的一年级儿童在字母数字排序任务上的得分显著低于患有MD且反应性较低的儿童。研究结果表明，高反应性会损害一年级儿童在工作记忆和数学任务中的表现，反应性高的幼儿可能会从旨在降低压力情境中焦虑的干预措施中受益，这可能会改善学习。
