Thesis (doctoral)--University of Tartu, 2006. / Thesis based on six papers. Includes bibliographical references.

According to the 2009 U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 57 million individuals, ages five and older, living in the United States spoke a language other than English at home. There is a clear and growing number of bilingual individuals and English Language Learners (ELL) in the United States. With these growing numbers, especially within the school-aged population, it is crucial that a clear understanding exist regarding the development of children who are bilingual or learning English as their second language. There is evidence that bilingual children differ from their monolingual peers in the development of executive function (EF), and specifically demonstrate some advantages on EF tasks. This research has not been expanded to include the new conceptualization of EF as hot and cool. This study seeks to examine bilingual EF advantages in EF in light of this recent conceptualization. A second goal of this study is to identify other psychosocial variables that predict EF in children and, thus, might impact its development. The variables of interest include socioeconomic status (SES), economic stress, parenting practices (e.g., disciplinary practices and relational frustration), and cultural beliefs (e.g., individualism/collectivism). A sample of 67 bilingual and monolingual English speaking children and their parents/guardians participated in this study. Children completed 4 EF tasks and parents completed a battery which included measures of the psychosocial variables and the BRIEF Parent Form. A MANCOVA model was utilized to examine bilingual differences in EF. Multiple regression models were also used to test for significant predictors of hot and cool EF and general EF (as measured by the BRIEF GEC) among the psychosocial variables. No significant group differences were found in multivariate analyses. Significant predictors of specific EF measures and hot and cool total scores were identified, including economic stress, age, relational frustration, vertical individualism, and vertical collectivism. These are discussed in light of current literature and clinical applications.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-158).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-142).

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in children (Pui, 2000; Steen & Mirro, 2000; American Cancer Society, 2009; Westlake & Bertolone, 2002). Modern advances in cancer treatment, such as combination chemotherapy (Ettinger, Bond, & Sievers, 2002; Rodman & Reed, 2009), have increased survivorship of ALL to nearly 85% (Westlake & Bertolone, 2002). This new population of ALL survivors is displaying a unique profile of cognitive late effects that are a result of the treatment (e.g. chemotherapy) which while effective in eradicating the disease, has neurotoxic properties (American Cancer Society, 2009). Late effects have been discovered in a variety of cognitive skills, including academic achievement, visual-spatial skills, and processing speed, but the most commonly seen late effects are in the areas of attention and memory (e.g. Askins & Moore, 2008; Cullen, Derrickson, & Potter, 2002; Leigh, 2000). While working memory is a skill that depends on both attention and memory (Baddeley 2000) and is important in both academic performance and life skills (Dark & Benbow, 1991; Geary, Hoard, & Hamson, 1999), it is relatively unstudied in this population. The purpose of this study was to investigate working memory abilities in survivors of pediatric ALL. Working memory skills in this population were compared to both sample and population IQ. Comparisons of verbal and nonverbal working memory and male and female working memory skills were compared as well. First, working memory, as measured by a composite, was not found to be significantly impaired when compared to sample and population mean IQ. However, a single subtest, Digit Span Backward from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003), when compared to IQ outside the composite, was found to be significantly below IQ for both the sample and population mean. Second, no gender differences were found for working memory abilities. Finally, there was no difference between nonverbal and verbal working memory performance. While the results were nonsignificant, verbal working memory was worse than nonverbal working memory, which was the opposite of the hypothesized pattern. Implications, recommendations, and limitations of this study are discussed in detail. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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