Working memory, phonological awareness, and developing language skills

The relationship between working memory, verbal short-term memory, phonological awareness, and developing language skills was explored longitudinally in children growing up in a multilingual society. A sample of 121 children from Luxembourg were followed from the end of Kindergarten to 1st Grade, and completed multiple assessments of verbal short-term memory, complex working memory, phonological awareness, native and foreign vocabulary knowledge, language comprehension, and reading. Results indicate that relations between the measures were best characterized by a model consisting of two related but separable constructs – corresponding to verbal short-term memory and the central executive – that were distinct from phonological awareness. The data further showed that assessments of verbal short-term memory in Kindergarten significantly predicted vocabulary knowledge and comprehension in native and foreign languages one year later: Central executive and verbal short-term memory measures in Kindergarten were significantly associated with reading in 1st Grade and phonological awareness, indexed by rhyme detection, did not predict any of the language constructs one year later. The findings lend strong support to the position that verbal short-term memory is one of the main contributors to new word learning in both native and non-native languages by supporting the formation of stable phonological representations of new words in long-term memory. Verbal short-term memory also seems to play a significant role in the syntactic comprehension of sentences. The heard material might be kept active in verbal short-term memory while the child is listening to the sentence and processing it for comprehension. Finally working memory appears to make significant contributions to reading development. One explanation of these findings is that literacy classroom activities often impose heavy demands on working memory, the capacity of which therefore has a direct effect on the frequency of task failure or success in these classroom activities which consequently influences the rate of learning

Working memory and fluid intelligence

The present study investigates how working memory and fluid intelligence are related in young children and which aspect of working memory span tasks– short-term storage or controlled attention - might drive the relationship. A sample of 119 children were followed from kindergarten to 2nd grade and completed assessments of working memory, short-term memory, and fluid intelligence. The data showed that working memory, verbal short-term memory, and fluid intelligence were highly related but separate constructs in young children. The results further showed that when the common variance between working memory and short-term memory was controlled, the residual working memory factor manifested significant links with fluid intelligence whereas the residual short-term memory factor did not. These findings suggest that in young children the executive demands rather than the storage component of working memory span tasks are the source of their link with fluid intelligence

Risk and protective factors of mental health in children in residential care: A nationwide study from Luxembourg

peer reviewedBackground: Children who grow up in residential care are at high risk for mental health problems. Existing studies have focused on negative mental health indicators and risk factors. There has been less emphasis on identifying protective factors, particularly those associated with positive mental health outcomes. Objective: This study explores positive and negative dimensions of mental health and their links to risk and protective factors in children who have experienced early adversity and trauma and have been placed in residential care. Participants and settings: Children aged 11 to 18 (N =264) were recruited from residential care homes in Luxembourg, a small, high-income European country. Methods: The children completed self-report questionnaires on mental health, perceived stress, school pressure, and participation. Residential care workers provided information on demographic factors, developmental and care history, and pre-care experiences of early adversity and trauma. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that subjective well-being, internalising problems, and externalising problems are separate yet interconnected components of mental health. Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes models showed that individual, contextual, and psychosocial predictors contribute differentially to positive and negative mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Using a national sample of children in residential care in Luxembourg, this research indicates that subjective well-being, internalising problems, and externalising problems are distinct but related aspects of mental health. ‘Child participation’ and ‘school pressure’ displayed strong links with positive mental health outcomes and may serve as a potential path for improving public health interventions for children in care.HER

Rapid Automatized Naming and Explicit Phonological Processing in Children With Developmental Dyslexia: A Study With Portuguese-Speaking Children in Brazil.

peer reviewedMany studies have shown that children with reading difficulties present deficits in rapid automatized naming (RAN) and phonological awareness skills. The aim of this study was to examine RAN and explicit phonological processing in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children with developmental dyslexia and to explore the ability of RAN to discriminate between children with and without dyslexia. Participants were 30 children with a clinical diagnosis of dyslexia established by the Brazilian Dyslexia Association and 30 children with typical development. Children were aged between 7 and 12, and groups were matched for chronological age and sex. They completed a battery of tests that are commonly used in Brazil for diagnosing dyslexia, consisting of the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children (WISC-IV) as well as tests of single word and non-word reading, RAN, and the profile of phonological abilities test. Results indicate that the cognitive profile of this group of children, with a clinical diagnosis of dyslexia, showed preserved skills in the four subscales of the WISC-IV (verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed) and on the profile of phonological abilities test. Groups significantly differed on the reading tests (word and non-word) and RAN measures, with medium to large effect sizes for RAN. Classification and regression tree analysis revealed that RAN was a good predictor for dyslexia diagnosis, with an overall classification accuracy rate of 88.33%

Low weight, socioeconomics and behavioral issues: examining a population in the Northeast of Brazil.

peer reviewed[en] BACKGROUND: Preterm and low weight children at birth are exposed to higher risks and rates of motor, cognitive, behavioral and emotional problems. Being born under low socioeconomic conditions adds even more complexity to these children. This report describes the emotional and behavioral issues of a group of children who were born in low income families and had low weigh at birth in the Northeast region of Brazil. METHOD: A total of 100 children (47 with adequate and 53 with low weigh) were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist for behavioral and emotional problems, as well as with the Autism Behavior Checklist for autism symptoms. RESULTS: Results show no difference between the two groups (low and adequate weight) in terms of behavior problems or autism characteristics, however, it shows elevated clinical prevalence's of behavioral and emotional problems and more vulnerability for autism symptoms when compared to the general population. Data also showed the more years children spent in pre-school, the less internalizing problems they manifested. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the impact of low socioeconomics environment is more prominent in the development of behavioral and emotional problems than low weight at birth, in addition it points to the benefits of pre-school years for the emotional and behavioral adjustment of children from low income and with low weight at birth