Socioeconomic status affects the development of executive function in preschool children

• Main Author: Chan, Lydia Chiew Leng
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59871
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Executive function (EF), a collective of cognitive processes which include working memory, flexibility, inhibitory control and planning, are needed for goal directed behaviours. The development of EF is essential in preschool years because EF is highly related to successes later in life. The current longitudinal study is interested in exploring how socioeconomic status (SES) affects EF in preschool children and how SES may affect the development of EF over a 6-month period. The study has a sample of 112 preschool children aged from 4 to 5 years old (M = 57.28 months; SD = 5.74). Measures used to assess the components of EF included Auditory Working Memory Task, Delay of Gratification task, Flexible Item Selection Task and Planning subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson cognitive ability tests. SES was measured by household income. Findings suggest that SES can negatively affect EF scores in two tests: planning and working memory. In both of these two tasks, children from lower income families were observed to have poorer EF performances than middle or high income group. Additionally, the study also found that SES can influence EF development. Findings suggest that after 6 months, the children from lowest income group had the greatest improvements in planning. The findings of this current study provide support for existing literature by showing that SES can influence the development of EF in preschoolers.