Age-related changes in children’s cognitive–motor dual tasking: Evidence from a large cross-sectional sample

Children coordinate two tasks simultaneously at several occasions throughout the day; however, this dual-task ability and its development across childhood are poorly understood. Therefore, the current study investigated age-related changes in children’s dualtask ability using a large cross-sectional sample of 8- to 13-yearold children (N = 135). In our dual-task methodology, children were asked to walk across an electronic pathway while performing three concurrent cognitive tasks. These tasks targeted at children’s executive function components: inhibition, switching, and updating skills. Our findings indicate associations between age and children’s stride time variability but not with normalized velocity. Younger children showed higher stride time variability in the dual-task situation as compared with older children after accounting for their single-task performance, intelligence, anthropometric variables, and sex, indicating a more regular gait pattern in older children. Furthermore, age was differently related to children’s accuracy in solving the concurrent cognitive tasks. Whereas age was associated with children’s performance in the updating and switching task, there was no relation between age and children’s inhibitory skills. In addition, our data imply that children’s dualtask ability was associated with a number of individual variables. In particular, children with higher intelligence scores showed fewer errors and girls showed lower stride time variability in the dual tasks. Our results suggest a considerable developmental progression in children’s ability to coordinate two simultaneous tasks across middle childhood. Furthermore, our study qualifies previous dual-task research and implies that heterogeneous findings may be related to a differential involvement of executive function components in the dual task

Determinanten der Lesekompetenz bei Jugendlichen nicht deutscher Herkunftssprache. Zur Bedeutung der Spracherwerbsreihenfolge im Falle von Mehrsprachigkeit

Der Beitrag diskutiert die Bedeutung von Determinanten der Lesekompetenz bei Jugendlichen nichtdeutscher Herkunftssprache. Dazu werden die Kompetenzen von mehrsprachigen und monolingualen leseschwachen Jugendlichen verglichen. Die Analysen beruhen auf einer ergänzenden Untersuchung, die an Schulen mit sehr hohem Migrantenanteil durchgeführt wurde. Neben dem PISA-Test zur Lesekompetenz wurden hierbei auch Messinstrumente eingesetzt, die den Wortschatz, grammatikalische Fähigkeiten und basale sprachliche Kompetenzen wie bspw. phonologische Bewusstheit und prosodische Sensitivität erfassten. Die Rückstände im Bereich des Leseverstehens von mehrsprachigen Jugendlichen werden unabhängig vom Zeitpunkt des Erwerbsbeginns der deutschen Sprache (Deutsch als Erstsprache oder Zweitsprache) primär mit eingeschränkten Fähigkeiten im Überschneidungsbereich von Grammatikkompetenz und Wortschatz erklärt. (DIPF/Orig.

Executive functions and visual-spatial skills predict mathematical achievement: Asymmetrical associations across age

Children's mathematical achievement depends on their domain-specific abilities and their domain-general skills such as executive functions (EFs) and visual-spatial skills (VSS). Research indicates that these two domain-general skills predict mathematical achievement. However, it is unclear whether these skills are differently associated with mathematical achievement across a large age range. The current cross-sectional study answered this question using a large, representative sample aged 5-20 years ( N = 1754). EFs, VSS, and mathematical achievement were assessed using the Intelligence and Development Scales-2. ierarchical regression analyses were computed with EFs and VSS as predictor variables and mathematical achievement as dependent variable. We examined (non-) linear effects and interactions of EFs and VSS with age. Results indicated that EFs and VSS were distinctly associated with mathematical achievement above and beyond effects of age, sex, maternal education, and verbal reasoning. Effects of EFs were linear and age-invariant. Effects of VSS were curvilinear and stronger in adolescents than in children. Our results indicated that EFs and VSS related differently to mathematical proficiency across age, suggesting a varying impact on mathematics across age

Young Minority Home‐Language Students’ Biased Reading Self‐Concept and Its Consequences for Reading Development

Young students who speak a different language at home than that spoken in school (i.e., a minority home-language) appear to exhibit a biased reading self-concept. Importantly, this biased reading self-concept may correspond with altered causal pathways between reading self-concept and achievement in minority home-language students. To test this idea, the authors examined cross-lagged links between reading self-concept and reading achievement in a large multiple-group longitudinal study in Germany. Students with German (n = 885), Turkish (n = 193), or another (n = 550) home language were tested yearly in grades 1-4 on measures of reading and reading self-concept. Despite showing lower reading achievement, students speaking a minority home language exhibited a higher reading self-concept. Cross-lagged paths revealed reciprocal effects between reading achievement and reading self-concept from grade 1 to grade 2, particularly for students with German as a home language. Minority home-language students showed significantly lower effects of reading achievement on their subsequent reading self-concept from grade 1 to grade 2. From grade 2 onward, reading achievement predicted reading self-concept, but not vice versa

Mindfulness and romantic relationship outcomes: the mediating role of conflict resolution styles and closeness

Objectives The association of mindfulness and romantic relationship outcomes such as partnership quality and satisfaction is well-established; however, the mechanisms of action are not yet clear. The current study tested conflict resolution styles and closeness as possible mediating factors. We hypothesized that trait mindfulness would increase the use of constructive conflict resolution styles (positive problem solving), decrease the use of destructive styles (conflict engagement, withdrawal, and compliance), and promote feelings of closeness between partners, which in turn would predict positive relationship outcomes (namely partnership quality, partnership satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction). Methods A total of 209 individuals (86% German, 76% female, mean age = 32 years) living in a relationship (31% married) participated in an online questionnaire. Results Mediation analyses revealed that positive problem solving mediated the association between mindfulness and partnership quality with b = .09 (95% CI = .03–.17), mindfulness and partnership satisfaction with b = .07 (95% CI = .02–.13), and mindfulness and sexual satisfaction with b = .04 (95% CI = .00–.10). Furthermore, a mediating role of withdrawal and closeness was shown for individual relationship outcomes. Conclusions Findings suggest that more positive problem solving, less withdrawal, and more closeness are mechanisms by which mindfulness is associated with positive relationship outcomes. The results of our study thus broaden our understanding of the processes that underlie fulfilling romantic relationships and, in turn, underline the positive effects of mindfulness

A Continuous Solution to the Norming Problem

Conventional methods for producing test norms are often plagued with jumps or gaps (i.e., discontinuities) in norm tables and low confidence for assessing extreme scores. We propose a new approach for producing continuous test norms to address these problems that also has the added advantage of not requiring assumptions about the distribution of the raw data: Norm values are established from raw data by modeling the latter ones as a function of both percentile scores and an explanatory variable (e.g., age). The proposed method appears to minimize bias arising from sampling and measurement error, while handling marked deviations from normalitysuch as are commonplace in clinical samples. In addition to step-by-step instructions in how to apply this method, we demonstrate its advantages over conventional discrete norming procedures using norming data from two different psychometric tests, employing either age norms (N = 3,555) or grade norms (N = 1,400)

Parental Acculturation Attitudes: Direct and Indirect Impacts on Children's Second Language Acquisition

The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between parental acculturation attitudes and second language (L2) skills and acquisition in immigrant children and to identify the mechanisms that potentially mediate between parental acculturation attitudes and children's L2 skills and acquisition. Our longitudinal study is based on a sample of 252 children with German as L2 (age t 1 : M = 41 months; t 2 : M = 57 months) and their parents. Research Findings : Results revealed that parental acculturation attitudes toward the country of origin negatively correlated with children's L2 skills at t 1 and at t 2 . Furthermore, time spent in early childcare predicted L2 skills at t 1 and at t 2 . Parental L2 proficiency and children's contact with German language speakers outside of childcare were related to children's L2 skills at t 1 . Parental L2 proficiency mediated the relationship between parental acculturation attitudes and children's L2 skills. Practice or Policy : The findings support the importance of early childcare attendance and parental acculturation for L2 skills and acquisition in children with an immigrant background

Effects of various executive functions on adults' and children's walking

Walking is human's most important locomotion. Until recently, walking was seen as an automated motor task which requires only minimal cognitive resources. However, recent studies indicate that walking requires higher-level cognitive processes such as executive functions. A different line of research suggests that executive functions consist of three core components, i.e., inhibition, switching, and updating. Combining these findings, the present study clarified which executive-function component is most essential for human walking. Applying a dual-task methodology, adults ( n = 37) and 8- to 13-year-old children ( n = 134) walked repeatedly across an electronic pathway while solving an inhibition, switching, and updating task. Both adults and children showed the largest gait alterations in the updating and switching task as opposed to inhibition. Likewise, their cognitive performance revealed the largest performance reductions from single- to dual-task situations in the updating task. Overall, our results highlight remarkable similarities in children's and adults' performance with updating working memory representations and switching between rule sets being the most essential cognitive processes for walking. These findings point to a general gait-cognition process. Results have important theoretical value and hold practical implications for creating effective intervention programs