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This study tested the construct validity of a preschool measure of executive function (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function; BRIEF-P) through support of convergent and discriminant validity using the multitrait-multimethod validation process. Convergent validity was examined through teacher ratings of executive function and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and through the measurement of executive function on a performance measure. Determination of discriminant validity was attempted through teacher ratings of executive function and anxious/shy behaviors and through performance measures of visuospatial processing. Participants were placed in one of two groups: a control group/no diagnosis (n = 21) or an ADHD Group (n = 14). Group comparisons were conducted using t-tests and chi-square analysis and determined group differences related to gender, ethnic background, IQ, and age. An Analysis of covariance, controlling for gender, indicated significantly higher teacher ratings of preschool-age children with ADHD than without ADHD on the BRIEF-P. Pearson correlations suggest a strong relationship between similar constructs utilizing same method procedures and a moderate relationship measuring the same construct between measures. Discriminant validity was unable to be established due to non significant relationships between the same trait/between methods and different trait/between methods correlations. However, the small number of participants (n = 35) and poor teacher return rate of questionnaires (control n = 7; ADHD n = 14) may have affected the results of this study. There were several other limitations of this study, including the design of the study and the extended length of time to complete the study. / School Psychology

According to the biopsychosocial model of bulimia, neurobiological mechanisms called endophenotypes cause eating disordered behavior. Impulsivity has been identified as a possible endophenotype for bulimia nervosa, and individuals with bulimia who present with multiple forms of impulsive behavior are known to have worse prognoses. Executive dysfunction in impulse control purportedly manifests as behavioral under-regulation in binge-purge episodes. Neuropsychological assessments were used to analyze the relationship between impulsivity and symptoms of bulimia. Twenty-eight inpatient adolescent and young adult women with bulimia completed the D-KEFS Color Word Task, which is a version of the Stroop that contains four trials including the classic Stroop and a switching Stroop, as well as the age appropriate versions of the BRIEF rating scale and a Type-T Survey of thrill-seeking. Performance on these measures was correlated with measures of bulimia symptoms, including the EDI-3, EDE-Q, and variables of illness severity. Delay of gratification was assessed by offering subjects a choice of compensation that was either immediate and smaller or delayed and larger. Mixed results were found. The sample did not differ from the D-KEFS normative sample on total number of errors or on speed of task completion for the switching Stroop, and the sample demonstrated faster performance than the normative sample on the classic Stroop. However, a tendency to favor speed over accuracy of performance was identified. On the BRIEF rating scales, the sample self-reported significantly higher rates of executive dysfunction compared to the normative data. Additionally, some variables of impulsivity, including greater frequency of errors on cognitive tasks and self-reported deficits of executive functioning, were significantly correlated with variables of bulimia symptom severity, including self-reported bulimia symptomatology on the EDI-3 and frequency of bingeing and purgeing. Risk-taking was also found to be correlated with symptoms of bulimia. Differences were found between subjects who chose the immediate prize versus those who chose the delayed prize, including differences in cognitive task performance and symptom severity. Differences were also found for subjects with a comorbid disorder of impulse control, including bipolar disorders and substance abuse. In conclusion, a unilateral deficit of impulse control was not found to be characteristic of this sample; however, a multi-impulsive cohort was identified as having deficits of cognitive impulse control. / School Psychology

Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with difficulties in parent- child relationships, however, research to date has focused on cross-sectional associations. Parent and child behavior may be differently affected by ACEs as a child develops and caregiving demands change. Furthermore, poorer executive function (EF) is associated with both ACEs and problematic parenting processes, and may be one potential mechanism involved in the intergenerational transmission of ACEs. This study examined longitudinal associations between maternal ACEs, maternal EF, and patterns of change in maternal and child emotional availability (EA) using longitudinal multilevel modelling (MLM). Mother-child dyads (N = 114) were followed at five separate assessments over a 5-year period. Maternal ACEs were measured retrospectively at 3-months postpartum, maternal EF was assessed at 8-months, and mother-child interactions were videotaped at 18-, 36- and 60-months postpartum. Results revealed that maternal EA was stable, while child EA increased from 18- to 60-months postpartum. Maternal ACEs were negatively associated with maternal and child EA at 18-months postpartum and this effect decreased overtime. In contrast, there was a persistent, positive effect of maternal EF on EA trajectories. Maternal EF did not mediate the association between ACEs and EA. Findings also demonstrated significant within-dyad associations between maternal and child EA. These findings lead to a deeper understanding of the effects of maternal influences on parent-child relationships. We provide important evidence regarding the intergenerational transmission of ACEs, demonstrating that effects of maternal ACEs on parenting are not necessarily persistent. Findings also support sustained relations between maternal EF and maternal and child behavior across development, suggesting the utility of EF as an intervention target. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which are experiences of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, are risk factors for difficulties in parent-child relationships when individuals become parents themselves. In addition, ACEs are associated with deficits in higher-order cognitive abilities called executive functions (EF) in adulthood, which may also, in turn, compromise an individual’s ability to provide sensitive and nurturing care to their children. The following thesis explores the collective relationships between maternal ACEs, maternal EF, and emotional availability during parent-child interactions in a community sample of mothers and their children, followed from toddlerhood (18-months postpartum) to preschool (60-months postpartum). Findings from this study demonstrate unique trajectories of maternal and child emotional availability during this period in development. Higher maternal ACEs were associated with decreased emotional availability during parent-child interactions at 18-months postpartum and this effect decreased overtime. Mothers with higher EF, and their children, demonstrated increased emotional availability across development. Maternal ACEs was not associated with maternal EF. Findings are relevant in informing the development and adaptation of timely and preventative parenting interventions.

The preschool years are a critical time for the development of emotion regulation, which is vital for children’s intellectual and social growth. Children with behavior problems are at particular risk of developing poor regulatory skills. Understanding factors underlying emotion dysregulation in children with behavior problems is therefore important for fostering children’s emotional development. Although theory and research suggest executive function may be important in this regard, its role among children at-risk for emotion dysregulation remains unclear. The goal of the current study was to examine whether executive function predicted trajectories of emotion dysregulation from age 3 to age 5 among children with behavior problems. This study focused on 199 3-year-old children with behavior problems who took part in a larger longitudinal study. Results revealed that response inhibition and working memory were not predictive of later emotion dysregulation. However, children who exhibited worse delay of gratification at ages 3 and 4 had greater symptoms of externalizing emotion dysregulation at age 5. In addition, children who made more omission errors on a test of attentional control at ages 3 and 4 exhibited greater externalizing emotion dysregulation at age 5. Gender differences emerged on two measures of delay of gratification and one measure of attentional control. Results suggest that specific facets of executive function may play an important role in difficulties with emotion dysregulation across the preschool years and that this pattern may differ across boys and girls.