Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Dev Psychopathol. 2024 Aug;36(3):1489-1502. doi: 10.1017/S0954579423000743. Epub 2023 Jul 12.
Changes in executive function (EF) occur during adolescence with several factors (e.g., parenting styles, socioeconomic status) influencing the development of EF abilities. These changes are important as EF has been strongly linked with a range of outcomes including academic achievement, job performance, and social-emotional well-being. However, few studies have examined variability in EF trajectories during this critical developmental period, or trajectories in samples known to have specific impairments with EF, such as adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study examined differential trajectories of three domains of parent-rated EF in 302 adolescents (167 males; Mage = 13.17 years) with and without ADHD (53.6% with ADHD) from grade 8 to 10. The study also explored whether adolescent ADHD, parent ADHD, and parents' own EF predicted EF trajectories in addition to the longitudinal relation between trajectories and academic outcomes. Findings suggest that adolescence is marked by significant variability in EF development due to factors such as ADHD status, parent ADHD, and parent EF ability. Additionally, adolescents who displayed poor EF abilities throughout middle and high school had significantly lower grade point averages and poorer parent-, teacher-, and self-reported academic outcomes. Implications for interventions targeting EF deficits among adolescents with and without ADHD are discussed.
青少年时期的执行功能 (EF) 会发生变化，有几个因素（例如，育儿方式、社会经济地位）会影响 EF 能力的发展。这些变化很重要，因为 EF 与一系列结果密切相关，包括学业成绩、工作表现和社会情感健康。然而，很少有研究检查过在这个关键的发育时期 EF 轨迹的可变性，或者在具有特定 EF 障碍的样本中（例如，被诊断为注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 的青少年）的轨迹。本研究检查了 302 名青少年（167 名男性；Mage = 13.17 岁）在 8 年级到 10 年级期间父母评定的 EF 的三个领域的差异轨迹，这些青少年中有 ADHD（53.6% 患有 ADHD）和没有 ADHD。该研究还探讨了青少年 ADHD、父母 ADHD 和父母自身的 EF 是否除了轨迹与学业成绩之间的纵向关系之外，还可以预测 EF 轨迹。研究结果表明，由于 ADHD 状态、父母 ADHD 和父母的 EF 能力等因素，青少年时期的 EF 发展存在显著的可变性。此外，在整个中学阶段表现出较差 EF 能力的青少年的平均绩点明显较低，父母、教师和自我报告的学业成绩也较差。讨论了针对 ADHD 和非 ADHD 青少年的 EF 缺陷的干预措施的意义。
