Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Dev Sci. 2021 Mar;24(2):e13025. doi: 10.1111/desc.13025. Epub 2020 Sep 5.
The current study examines the organization of attention skills across the preschool year before kindergarten, and tests how distinct attention subcomponents predict early academic skills in a sample of low-income children (n = 99). Children completed well-validated attention tasks in fall at 4.5 years old and spring at 5 years old, capturing the abilities to selectively focus, sustain attention, and employ executive control. Exploratory factor analyses at both time points support a 2-factor model differentiating selective and sustained attention from attention processing speed and executive attention, suggesting that attention in low-income preschoolers may have a simpler organization than the 3-factor structure found in adulthood. Multiple regression models find children's ability to selectively focus and sustain attention serves as a robust concurrent and longitudinal predictor of academic skills. These results highlight the role of selective and sustained attention processes in supporting school readiness for economically vulnerable children.
本研究考察了学前阶段（幼儿园前）儿童注意力技能的组织方式，并在低收入儿童样本（n=99）中测试了不同的注意力子成分如何预测早期学术技能。儿童在 4.5 岁的秋季和 5 岁的春季完成了经过充分验证的注意力任务，分别考察了选择性注意力、持续性注意力和执行控制能力。在两个时间点的探索性因素分析支持了一个区分选择性和持续性注意力与注意力加工速度和执行注意力的 2 因素模型，这表明低收入学龄前儿童的注意力组织可能比成年人的 3 因素结构更简单。多元回归模型发现，儿童选择性注意力和持续性注意力的能力是学业技能的有力的同期和纵向预测指标。这些结果突出了选择性和持续性注意力过程在支持经济弱势群体儿童的学校准备方面的作用。
