Department of Special Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University Utrecht, Netherlands.
Department of Special Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University Utrecht, Netherlands ; Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University Maastricht, Netherlands.
Front Psychol. 2014 Jul 22;5:733. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00733. eCollection 2014.
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. A sample of 2437 children were administered the assessment battery at a mean age of 2;4 years (SD = 0;3 years) in a large-scale field study. Measures of both hot EF (snack and gift delay tasks) and cool EF (six boxes, memory for location, and visual search task) were included. Confirmatory Factor Analyses showed that a two-factor hot and cool EF model fitted the data better than a one-factor model. Measurement invariance was supported across groups differing in age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), home language, and test setting. Criterion and convergent validity were evaluated by examining relationships between EF and age, gender, SES, home language, and parent and teacher reports of children's attention and inhibitory control. Predictive validity of the test battery was investigated by regressing children's pre-academic skills and behavioral problems at age three on the latent hot and cool EF factors at age 2 years. The test battery showed satisfactory psychometric quality and criterion, convergent, and predictive validity. Whereas cool EF predicted both pre-academic skills and behavior problems 1 year later, hot EF predicted behavior problems only. These results show that EF can be assessed with psychometrically sound instruments in children as young as 2 years, and that EF tasks can be reliably applied in large scale field research. The current instruments offer new opportunities for investigating EF in early childhood, and for evaluating interventions targeted at improving EF from a young age.
执行功能 (EF) 是许多发展结果的重要预测因素，例如学业成绩和行为调整。尽管有大量的测量工具可用于评估儿童的执行功能，但只有少数适用于幼儿，甚至更少经过心理测量评估。本研究评估了一种用于测量 2 岁儿童执行功能的评估工具包的心理测量特性和有效性。在一项大规模的现场研究中，2437 名儿童在平均年龄为 2 岁 4 个月（SD=0 岁 3 个月）时接受了评估工具包的测试。热执行功能（零食和礼物延迟任务）和冷执行功能（六个盒子、位置记忆和视觉搜索任务）的测量都包括在内。验证性因子分析表明，双因素热和冷执行功能模型比单因素模型更适合数据。跨年龄、性别、社会经济地位 (SES)、家庭语言和测试环境不同的组，测量不变性得到支持。通过检查 EF 与年龄、性别、SES、家庭语言以及儿童注意力和抑制控制的家长和教师报告之间的关系，评估了效标和聚合效度。通过回归分析，研究了测试工具包在 2 岁时的潜在热和冷执行功能因素对儿童 3 岁时的前学术技能和行为问题的预测效度。测试工具包具有令人满意的心理测量质量和效标、聚合和预测效度。虽然冷执行功能预测了 1 年后的前学术技能和行为问题，但热执行功能仅预测了行为问题。这些结果表明，在 2 岁的儿童中可以使用心理测量上可靠的工具来评估执行功能，并且可以在大规模的现场研究中可靠地应用执行功能任务。目前的工具为研究幼儿的执行功能提供了新的机会，也为评估从幼儿开始提高执行功能的干预措施提供了新的机会。
