Stress coping and the development of executive function : a study on 4-year old preschoolers in Singapore.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-reported coping mechanisms and executive function (EF) in 4-year old Singaporean preschoolers. Children (N = 18) were given a battery of EF tests presented in the form of child-friendly games in addition to an interview on challenging events and coping strategies (Frydenberg, 2004).Two measure of EF namely, cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation were hypothesized to be positively related to productive coping mechanisms defined as secondary control coping strategies. Results indicated that cognitive flexibility was positively correlated with productive coping strategies. Conversely, no significant relationship was found between emotion regulation and productive coping strategies. Directions for future research on EF and coping in preschoolers are suggested.Bachelor of Art