Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants

Language Ability, Executive Functioning, Response Modulation, and Behavior in a Diverse Sample of School-Age Children

Department

Allied Health Sciences

College

College of Health Professions

Date Range

2011-2012

Abstract

This investigation evaluated the relationships among response modulation, executive functioning, language ability, and behavior problems in school-age children. Executive functioning includes shifting, updating working memory, and inhibition. Response modulation is an inhibitory process involving attention to peripheral cues. Four research questions were addressed: 1) What is the relationship between response modulation and executive functioning?; 2) Does language ability impact performance on executive functioning/response modulation tasks?; 3) Does performance on executive functioning tasks/response modulation tasks predict language ability?; 4) Do language ability, executive functioning, and/or response modulation predict attention problems/externalizing behavior problems? Children completed a battery of standardized language assessments, standardized questionnaires assessing problem behaviors, and computerized response modulation and executive functioning tasks. Parents completed questionnaires assessing the children s executive functioning and problem behaviors. Correlational and regression analyses revealed that executive functioning and response modulation represent distinct, yet related, cognitive processes which contribute differentially to language ability and behavior problems in school-age children. Shifting and response modulation contributed to language ability. Executive inhibition and language ability contributed to behavior problems.

Conference Name

Symposium for Research in Child Language Disorders

Conference Location

Madison, WI

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS