scholarly journals Executive function and theory of mind as predictors of aggressive and prosocial behavior and peer acceptance in early childhood

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 907-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. O'Toole ◽  
Claire P. Monks ◽  
Stella Tsermentseli
2020 ◽  
pp. 016502542093563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinxin Shi ◽  
Idean Ettekal ◽  
Jeffrey Liew ◽  
Steven Woltering

The current study examined the heterogeneity in the development of school-based prosocial behavior from Grades 1 to 12 and the role of multiple early childhood antecedents in predicting heterogeneous developmental trajectories of prosocial behavior in a sample of 784 children facing early risks and vulnerabilities (predominantly from low-income families and academically at risk; 52.6% male). In alignment with the risk and resilience framework, antecedents consisted of risk and protective factors from both individual (i.e., ego-resilient personality, behavior problems, intelligence, academic performance, gender, and ethnicity) and contextual domains (i.e., maternal support and responsiveness, family socioeconomic adversity, teacher–child warmth and conflict, and peer acceptance and rejection). We identified four distinct prosocial trajectories including a high-stable (52.5%), high-desisting (15%), moderate-increasing (20.6%), and low-stable class (11.9%). Results revealed that the low-stable, high-desisting, and moderate-increasing classes were associated with lower ego resiliency, higher behavior problems, lower teacher–child warmth, higher teacher–child conflict, and peer rejection in early childhood, compared to the high-stable group. Boys and African Americans were more likely to be in the low-stable, high-desisting, and moderate-increasing classes. Individual characteristics such as ego-resilient personality and contextual influences such as teacher–child warmth served as common protective antecedents. Interestingly, teacher–child conflict served as a unique predictor for the high-desisting class, and behavior problems and peer rejection served as unique predictors for the low-stable class.


2022 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 101150
Author(s):  
Nao Fujita ◽  
Rory T. Devine ◽  
Claire Hughes

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Moriguchi ◽  
Ikuko Shinohara ◽  
Naoya Todo ◽  
Xianwei Meng

Author(s):  
Catherine Davies ◽  
Alexandra Hendry ◽  
Shannon P. Gibson ◽  
Teodora Gliga ◽  
Michelle McGillion ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 765
Author(s):  
Jie Tong ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Ying Jin ◽  
Weiqing Liu ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
...  

Background: Studies have implicated hypofrontality in the pathogenesis of impaired theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF) in major depressive disorder (MDD). These symptoms are usually resistant to treatment. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to reverse hypofrontality. Moreover, BDNF is an effective biomarker of antidepressant effects, but there have been very few studies on the correlation between BDNF and rTMS. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of 20 sessions of a 10 Hz unilateral rTMS intervention over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in improving ToM and EF in patients with MDD and its correlation with BDNF. Methods: A total of 120 MDD patients were enrolled in this randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind trial. Each participant received 20 sessions of rTMS at 10 Hz frequency through the active or the sham coil over 4 weeks. ToM was assessed with the facial emotion identification test (FEIT) and hinting task (HT). EF was assessed with the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST). BDNF assessments were carried out at baseline and 2-, 4-, 12-, and 24-week follow-ups. Results: The improvement in the ToM (FEIT, HT) in the active rTMS group was significantly different from that in the sham rTMS group (F = 18.09, p < 0.001; F = 5.02, p = 0.026). There were significant differences in the WCST (categories completed, response errors, response perseverative errors, non-response perseverative errors) after logarithmic transformation at different time points in the active rTMS group (F = 14.71, p < 0.001; F = 5.99, p = 0.046; F = 8.90, p = 0.031; F = 2.31, p = 0.048). However, there was no significant difference in log transformed BDNF concentration between the two groups (t = 0.07 to t = 1.29, p > 0.05). BDNF was negatively correlated with WCST categories completed at the 24th week (r = −0.258, p = 0.046). Conclusions: The results show that rTMS may improve the ToM and EF of patients with MDD and there was no significant correlation with serum BDNF concentration. RTMS can not only be used for treatment of patients with MDD but also has a positive effect on ToM and EF.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Willoughby ◽  
Brooke Magnus ◽  
Lynne Vernon-Feagans ◽  
Clancy B. Blair ◽  

Substantial evidence has established that individual differences in executive function (EF) in early childhood are uniquely predictive of children’s academic readiness at school entry. The current study tested whether growth trajectories of EF across the early childhood period could be used to identify a subset of children who were at pronounced risk for academic impairment in kindergarten. Using data that were collected at the age 3, 4, and 5 home assessments in the Family Life Project ( N = 1,120), growth mixture models were used to identify 9% of children who exhibited impaired EF performance (i.e., persistently low levels of EF that did not show expected improvements across time). Compared to children who exhibited typical trajectories of EF, the delayed group exhibited substantial impairments in multiple indicators of academic readiness in kindergarten (Cohen’s ds = 0.9–2.7; odds ratios = 9.8–23.8). Although reduced in magnitude following control for a range of socioeconomic and cognitive (general intelligence screener, receptive vocabulary) covariates, moderate-sized group differences remained (Cohen’s ds = 0.2–2.4; odds ratios = 3.9–5.4). Results are discussed with respect to the use of repeated measures of EF as a method of early identification, as well as the resulting translational implications of doing so.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 519-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evren Etel ◽  
Bilge Yagmurlu

This study had two aims. The first aim was to measure mental state understanding in institution-reared children by using a theory of mind (ToM) scale, and to examine the role of cultural context in sequencing of ToM acquisition. The other aim was to investigate ToM in relation to social competence and executive function (EF). Due to its pronounced role in mental state understanding and social interactions, we assessed receptive language as well. The participants were 107 institution-reared children aged 3 to 5 years in Turkey. Two visits were held within 2 days for behavioral assessments. In the first visit, the ToM scale was administered; in the second visit, the child was given the language test and the EF tasks. The social competence scales were completed by the child’s primary care provider in the institution. Guttman scaling analysis revealed that an understanding of diverse beliefs developed earlier than knowledge access, favoring the “individualistic pattern.” The regression analysis showed that EF was a significant predictor of ToM, but neither of them was associated with social competence when age was controlled. Receptive language predicted social competence and EF directly, and ToM indirectly through EF, pointing to the importance of this ability for early development.


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