Steven J. Holochwost

Executive Functions: Formative Versus Reflective Measurement

The primary objective of this article was to critically evaluate the routine use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for representing an individual’s performance across a battery of executive function tasks. A conceptual review and statistical reanalysis of N = 10 studies that used CFA methods of EF tasks was undertaken. Despite evidence of excellent global model fit for CFA models, studies were uniformly characterized by weak correlations among EF tasks and weak to moderate levels of maximal reliability of latent EF constructs. Vanishing tetrad tests raised the possibility that individual tasks may be better conceptualized as causal rather than as effect indicators of the latent construct of EF. The use of CFA methods with EF tasks that are weakly correlated results in latent variables that have poor to modest maximal reliability. This undermines efforts to use latent variables of EF as predictors or outcomes in empirical studies and has implications for theory development. Greater attention to and resolution of the discrepancies between conceptual definitions and statistical approaches that are used to model EF has implications for the long-term value of using EF in research and clinical settings.

The developmental course of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol from 12 to 36 months: Relations with early poverty and later behavior problems

This study examined the development of baseline autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) physiological activity from 12 to 36 months as well as antecedents (poverty) and consequents (behavior problems) of individual differences in physiological development. Children (N=179; 50% poor; 56% African American; 52% male) provided saliva samples at 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months of age. Latent growth curve models indicated that nonlinear change was evident for both sAA and cortisol, with sAA increasing and cortisol decreasing with age. Children residing in poor households exhibited lower initial levels of sAA, but not cortisol. African-American children showed slightly smaller decreases in cortisol over time. Initial levels of sAA predicted higher levels of internalizing behaviors at 36 months and both initial levels of and total change in sAA predicted higher levels of externalizing behaviors at 36 months. There was no evidence that sAA or cortisol mediated the relationship between poverty and later behavior problems.

Parenting Behaviors and Vagal Tone at Six Months Predict Attachment Disorganization at Twelve Months

The authors investigated the relationships among parenting behaviors, infant vagal tone, and subsequent attachment classification. Vagal tone was assessed among 6-month olds (n = 95) during the still-face paradigm (SFP) via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), while attachment security and disorganization were measured at 12 months during the strange situation procedure (SSP). Infants demonstrating higher levels of RSA during the normal interaction and reunion episodes of the SFP whose mothers were also rated as negative-intrusive exhibited higher levels of attachment disorganization at 12 months, while infants with lower RSA and mothers who were negative-intrusive did not exhibit higher levels of disorganization. These results suggest that high levels of RSA may not be adaptive within the context of negative-intrusive parenting.

Patterns of joint parasympathetic, sympathetic, and adrenocortical activity and their associations with temperament in early childhood.

Evidence has accrued to show that autonomic and adrenocortical systems act in coordination to facilitate responses to environmental opportunities and threats. In the current study, we used cluster analysis to examine whether individual differences in patterns of joint baseline activity among the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are associated with parent-reported temperamental positive and negative affectivity in 36-month old children. The resulting clusters corresponded to the sensitive, buffered, and vigilant patterns as predicted by the adaptive calibration model of stress responsivity (Del Giudice et al., 2011) and included a novel pattern. Cluster memberships predicted differences in overall negative affectivity and its subscales, but no associations were found with positive affectivity. These results provide evidence that the joint activity of physiological systems at rest may underlie temperamental differences in negative affect.

NIH/Kennedy Center Workshop on Music and the Brain: Finding Harmony

The National Institutes of Health and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts convened a panel of experts to discuss the current state of research on music and the brain. The panel generated research recommendations to accelerate the study of musics effects on the brain and the implications for human health.

Individual differences in the activity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis: Relations to age and cumulative risk in early childhood

This study examined individual differences in the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis with regard to age and cumulative risk during challenging laboratory tasks administered at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Saliva samples were collected from a majority-minority sample of N=185 children (57% African American, 50% female) prior to and following these tasks and later assayed for cortisol. Cumulative distal risk was indexed via a composite of maternal marital status, maternal education, income-to-needs ratio, the number of children in the household, and maternal age at childbirth. Probing of hierarchical models in which cortisol levels and age were nested within child revealed significant differences in cortisol as a function of both age and cumulative risk, such that children exposed to high levels of risk exhibited higher levels of cortisol both within and across age. These results highlight the sensitivity of the HPA axis to environmental context at the level of the individual, even as that sensitivity is manifest against the background of species-typical biological development.

The Arts and Socioemotional Development: Evaluating a New Mandate for Arts Education

In this chapter, we present the results of an evaluation that assesses whether an education in the arts may contribute to the development of socioemotional skills. To address this question, data were collected from N = 892 students (77.3% of color) participating in one of 11 programs in visual arts, music, theater, or dance. While our analyses revealed trend-level effects for programs on growth mindset and artistic goal orientation for the sample as a whole, significant effects were observed among younger students for growth mindset and for school engagement among students with high levels of engagement prior to program participation. We discuss the implications of these findings, which, given the composition of our sample, can be generalized to low-income students of color.

Maternal warmth, intrusiveness, and executive functions in early childhood: tracing developmental processes among African American children

ABSTRACT While the role of early maternal parenting practices in the development of executive functions (EFs) has received considerable attention in the literature, little is known about how specific parenting behaviours may be related to EFs within different racial groups. Therefore, the present study examines the joint impact of specific maternal parenting behaviours – warmth and intrusiveness – on EFs among African American children. The sample included 121 children and their mothers who participated in home and lab visits over the first five years of the child’s life. As hypothesized, the interaction between warmth (i.e. positive regard) and intrusiveness predicted EFs. However, contrary to our hypothesis, the combination of high levels of warmth and high intrusiveness was associated with poorer EFs. This unexpected finding is discussed in the context of prior research.