What is not working in working memory of children with literacy disorders? Evidence from a three-year-longitudinal study

The goals of this study were to explore the deficits in working memory associated with literacy disorders (i.e. developmental disorders of reading and/or spelling) and the developmental trajectories of these working memory deficits. The performance of 28 children with literacy disorders was compared to a non-disabled control group with the same group size at five bi-annual times of measurement in a three-year-longitudinal study beginning at the end of primary school (9.5 years of age). Storage capacity and central-executive working memory were assessed in phonological and visual-spatial modalities, the latter under static and dynamic conditions. Overall, children with literacy disorders were outperformed by their typical developing peers in all phonological and in dynamic visual-spatial storage and central-executive tasks except for the static visual-spatial storage task. Results at single times of measurement revealed that the most consistent deficit was found in the storage capacity of the phonological loop. An additional central-executive impairment is supported by low backward spans. The causes for output deficits in dynamic visual-spatial tasks and good performance under static visual-spatial condition are discussed.(DIPF/Orig.

Reciprocal relations of subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in late childhood

High sleep quality has been associated with beneficial outcomes across the life span. Intensive longitudinal studies suggest that these beneficial effects can also be observed on a day-to-day level. However, the dynamic interplay between subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in children\u27s daily life has only rarely been investigated. The aims of the present work were (a) to replicate findings from a prior ambulatory assessment study in this area (Könen et al., 2016), (b) to explore the effect of subjective sleep quality on well-being throughout the day, and (c) to examine the reciprocal relation between subjective sleep quality and well-being in more detail. Data from two ambulatory assessment studies with children between 8 and 11 years (N = 108/84, with assessments over 28/21 consecutive days) consistently showed that positive affect was higher and negative affect was lower after nights with better sleep quality, and that the effects of subjective sleep quality were stronger on well-being assessed in the morning compared with later in the day. Results from dynamic structural equation models revealed reciprocal effects of subjective sleep quality and positive affect. Negative affect was not consistently related to worse subsequent sleep quality after controlling for positive affect and prior night\u27s sleep quality. Results suggest a close relation of sleep quality and positive affect, which strengthens the idea behind interventions targeting both, children\u27s sleep and well-being. Differences between children in the dynamic interplay between sleep and affect may be important predictors of long-term outcomes. (DIPF/Orig.

Age-related differentiation in verbal and visuo-spatial working memory processing in childhood

Working memory (WM), a key feature of the cognitive system, allows for maintaining and processing information simultaneously and in a controlled manner. WM processing continuously develops across childhood, with significant increases both in verbal and visuo-spatial WM. Verbal and visuospatial WM may show different developmental trajectories, as verbal (but not visuospatial) WM relies on internal verbal rehearsal, which is less developed in younger children. We examined complex VWM and VSWM performance in 125 younger (age 4 to 6 years) and 101 older (age 8 to10 years) children. Latent multi-group modeling showed that (1) older children performed better on both verbal and visuospatial WM span tasks than younger children, (2) both age groups performed better on verbal than visuospatial WM, and (3) a model with two factors representing verbal and visuospatial WM fit the data better than a one-factor model. Importantly, the correlation between the two factors was significantly higher in younger than in older children, suggesting an age-related differentiation of verbal and spatial WM processing in middle childhood. Age-related differentiation is an important characteristic of cognitive functioning and thus the findings contribute to our general understanding of WM processing

Consistent use of proactive control and relation with academic achievement in childhood

As children become older, they better maintain task-relevant information in preparation of upcoming cognitive demands. This is referred to as proactive control, which is a key component of cognitive control development. However, it is still uncertain whether children engage in proactive control consistently across different contexts and how proactive control relates to academic abilities. This study used two common tasks—the AX Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT) and the Cued Task-Switching Paradigm (CTS)—to examine whether proactive control engagement in 102 children (age range: 6.91–10.91 years) converges between the two tasks and predicts academic abilities. Proactive control indices modestly correlated between tasks in higher but not lower working-memory children, suggesting that consistency in proactive control engagement across contexts is relatively low during childhood but increases with working memory capacity. Further, working memory (but not verbal speed) predicted proactive control engagement in both tasks. While proactive control as measured by each task predicted math and reading performance, only proactive control measured by CTS additionally predicted reasoning, suggesting that proactive control can be used as a proxy for academic achievements

The benefits of looking at intraindividual dynamics in cognitive training data

Over the last decade, the prospect of improving or maintaining cognitive functioning has provoked a steadily increasing number of cognitive training studies. Central target populations are individuals at risk for a disadvantageous development, such as older adults exhibiting cognitive decline or children with learning impairments. They rely on cognitive resources to meet the challenges of an independent life in old age or requirements at school. To support daily cognitive functioning, training outcomes need to generalize to other cognitive abilities. Such transfer effects are, however, highly discussed. For example, recent meta-analyses on working memory training differed in the conclusion on the presence (Au et al., 2015; Karbach and Verhaeghen, 2014) or absence of transfer effects (Melby-Lervåg and Hulme, 2013). Usually training-specific design factors such as type, intensity, duration, and feedback routines are discussed as reasons for such inconsistent findings. However, even individuals participating in exactly the same training regime highly differ in their training outcomes. We argue that it is time to study the individual development during trainings to understand these differential outcomes. It is time to have a closer look at the intraindividual training data

Cognitive benefits of last night's sleep : daily variations in children's sleep behavior are related to working memory fluctuations

Background: Recent studies have suggested substantial fluctuations of cognitive performance in adults both across and within days, but very little is known about such fluctuations in children. Children's sleep behavior might have an important influence on their daily cognitive resources, but so far this has not been investigated in terms of naturally occurring within-person variations in children's everyday lives. Methods: In an ambulatory assessment study, 110 elementary school children (8–11 years old) completed sleep items and working memory tasks on smartphones several times per day in school and at home for 4 weeks. Parents provided general information about the children and their sleep habits. Results: We identified substantial fluctuations in the children's daily cognitive performance, self-reported nightly sleep quality, time in bed, and daytime tiredness. All three facets were predictive of performance fluctuations in children's school and daily life. Sleep quality and time in bed were predictive of performance in the morning, and afternoon performance was related to current tiredness. The children with a lower average performance level showed a higher within-person coupling between morning performance and sleep quality. Conclusions: Our findings contribute important insights regarding a potential source of performance fluctuations in children. The effect of varying cognitive resources should be investigated further because it might impact children's daily social, emotional, and learning-related functioning. Theories about children's cognitive and educational development should consider fluctuations on micro-longitudinal scales (e.g., day-to-day) to identify possible mechanisms behind long-term changes

!cognitive-failures_and_personality_online_appendix_R2 – Supplemental material for Self-Reported Cognitive Failures in Everyday Life: A Closer Look at Their Relation to Personality and Cognitive Performance

<p>Supplemental material, !cognitive-failures_and_personality_online_appendix_R2 for Self-Reported Cognitive Failures in Everyday Life: A Closer Look at Their Relation to Personality and Cognitive Performance by Tanja Könen and Julia Karbach in Assessment</p

Barriers to physical activity in adolescents. A multidimensional approach

During adolescence, physical activity (PA) decreases with potentially serious, long-term consequences for physical and mental health. Although barriers have been identified as an important PA correlate in adults, research on adolescents\u27 PA barriers is lacking. Thus reliable, valid scales to measure adolescents\u27 PA barriers are needed. We present two studies describing a broad range of PA barriers relevant to adolescents with a multidimensional approach. In Study 1, 124 adolescents (age range = 12 - 24 years) reported their most important PA barriers. Two independent coders categorized those barriers. The most frequent PA barriers were incorporated in a multidimensional questionnaire. In Study 2, 598 adolescents (age range = 13 - 21 years) completed this questionnaire and reported their current PA, intention, self-efficacy, and negative outcome expectations. Seven PA barrier dimensions (leisure activities, lack of motivation, screen-based sedentary behavior, depressed mood, physical health, school workload, and preconditions) were confirmed in factor analyses. A multidimensional approach to measuring PA barriers in adolescents is reliable and valid. The current studies provide the basis for developing individually tailored interventions to increase PA in adolescents. (DIPF/Orig.)Im Jugendalter sinkt die körperliche Aktivität mit potenziell schwerwiegenden, langfristigen Konsequenzen für die körperliche und psychische Gesundheit. Obwohl Barrieren als wichtiges Korrelat körperlicher Aktivität von Erwachsenen gelten, sind sie bei Jugendlichen kaum untersucht. Eine Quantifizierung der Barrieren Jugendlicher durch reliable, valide Messinstrumente ist folglich unabdingbar. In zwei Studien wurde ein breites Spektrum von Barrieren körperlicher Aktivität von Jugendlichen anhand eines mehrdimensionalen Ansatzes untersucht. In Studie 1 berichteten 124 Jugendliche (Altersbereich: 12 - 24 Jahre) die für sie wichtigsten Barrieren körperlicher Aktivität. Diese wurden von zwei unabhängigen Kodierern kategorisiert. Die am häufigsten genannten Barrieren gingen in die Konstruktion des mehrdimensionalen Fragebogens ein. In Studie 2 beantworteten 598 Jugendliche (Altersbereich: 13 - 21 Jahre) diesen Fragebogen; zudem berichteten sie ihre aktuelle körperliche Aktivität, Intention, Selbstwirksamkeit und negativen Konsequenzerwartungen. Sieben Barrieren-Dimensionen wurden mittels Faktorenanalysen bestätigt (Freizeitaktivitäten, mangelnde Motivation, Medienkonsum, depressive Stimmung, körperliche Gesundheit, schulische Arbeitsbelastung, Voraussetzungen). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass im Jugendalter Barrieren körperlicher Aktivität anhand eines mehrdimensionalen Ansatzes reliabel und valide erfasst werden können. Die vorliegenden Studien bilden die Grundlage, um individuell auf die Barrieren von Jugendlichen zugeschnittene Interventionen zur Steigerung ihrer körperlichen Aktivität zu entwickeln. (DIPF/Orig.

Reciprocal Relations of Subjective Sleep Quality and Affective Well-Being in Late Childhood

High sleep quality has been associated with beneficial outcomes across the lifespan. Intensive longitudinal studies suggest that these beneficial effects can also be observed on a day-to-day level. However, the dynamic interplay between subjective sleep quality and affective well-being in children’s daily life has only rarely been investigated. The aims of the present work were (a) to replicate findings from a prior ambulatory assessment study in this area (Könen et al., 2016), (b) to explore the effect of subjective sleep quality on well-being throughout the day, and (c) to examine the reciprocal relation between subjective sleep quality and well-being in more detail. Data from two ambulatory assessment studies with children between 8 and 11 years (N = 108 / 84, with assessments over 28 / 21 consecutive days) consistently showed that positive affect was higher and negative affect was lower after nights with better sleep quality, and that the effects of subjective sleep quality were stronger on well-being assessed in the morning compared to later in the day. Results from dynamic structural equation models revealed reciprocal effects of subjective sleep quality and positive affect. Negative affect was not consistently related to worse subsequent sleep quality after controlling for positive affect and prior night’s sleep quality. Results suggest a close relation of sleep quality and positive affect, which strengthens the idea behind interventions targeting both, children’s sleep and well-being. Differences between children in the dynamic interplay between sleep and affect may be important predictors of long-term outcomes