Description
Book SynopsisExecutive control (EC) is a central construct in developmental science,although measurement limitations have hindered understanding ofits nature and development in young children, relation to social risk,and prediction of important outcomes. Disentangling EC from thefoundational cognitive abilities it regulates and that are inherentlyrequired for successful executive task completion (e.g., language, visual/spatial perception, and motor abilities) is particularly challenging atpreschool age, when these foundational abilities are still developing andconsequently differ substantially among children. A novel latent bifactormodeling approach delineated respective EC and foundational cognitiveabilities components that undergird executive task performance ina socio demographically stratifi ed sample of 388 preschoolers in alongitudinal, cohort-sequential study. The bifactor model revealed adevelopmental shift, where both EC and foundational cognitive abilitiescontributed uniquely to executive
Table of ContentsCONTENTSI. EXECUTIVE CONTROL IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.........................7
C. A. C. Clark, N. Chevalier, J. M. Nelson, T. D. James,
J. P. Garza, H.-J.Choi, and K. A. Espy
II. THE PRESCHOOL PROBLEM SOLVING STUDY:
SAMPLE, DATA, AND STATISTICAL METHODS...........................30
T. D. James, H.-J.Choi, S. A. Wiebe, and K. A. Espy
III. DISTINGUISHING EXECUTIVE CONTROL
FROM OVERLAPPING FOUNDATIONAL COGNITIVE
ABILITIES DURING THE PRESCHOOL PERIOD..........................47
J. M. Nelson,T. D. James, H.-J. Choi, C. A. C. Clark,
S. A. Wiebe, and K. A. Espy
IV. A NEW LOOK AT THE IMPLICATIONS OF
THE SOCIO-FAMILIAL CONTEXT FOR YOUNG
CHILDREN’S EXECUTIVE CONTROL: CLARIFYING
THE MECHANISMS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES....................69
C. A. C. Clark, T. D. James, and K. A. Espy
V. ELUCIDATING NEW PATHWAYS TO DIMENSIONS
OF ADHD SYMPTOMS IN PRESCHOOL BY JOINTLY
MODELING EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND
FOUNDATIONAL COGNITIVE ABILITIES.......................................96
J. M. Nelson, T. D. James, and K. A. Espy
VI. EXECUTIVE CONTROL IN PRESCHOOLERS:
NEW MODELS, NEW RESULTS, NEW IMPLICATIONS.................111
K. A. Espy, C. A. C. Clark, J. P. Garza, J. M. Nelson,
T. D. James, and H.-J. Choi
REFERENCES..............................................................................129
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................150
COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY ON THE CHANGING NATURE OF
EXECUTIVE CONTROL IN PRESCHOOL.....................................151
Michael T. Willoughby
CONTRIBUTORS........................................................................166
STATEMENT OF EDITORIAL POLICY...........................................168
SUBJECT INDEX........................................................................170
