A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Executive Function and Calibration Accuracy

TL;DR

This study tracks how executive function and calibration accuracy develop in preadolescents over 20 months.

Contribution

The study reveals a dynamic relationship between the development of executive function and calibration accuracy in children.

Findings

Executive function and calibration accuracy show significant interplay during development.

There are notable individual differences in the development of these functions.

Age positively affects the mean level of executive function but not calibration accuracy.

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the development of executive function and calibration accuracy in preadolescents. This study’s sample consisted of 262 students (127 females) from grades 4 (n = 91), 5 (n = 89), and 6 (n = 82) who took measures of executive function and performance calibration in a sport task three times over 20 months. A latent growth-curve modeling analysis showed a significant relationship between the rates of change of executive function and calibration accuracy. The results also showed a dynamic interplay in the development of executive function and calibration accuracy. There were significant interindividual differences in the estimated population means both in executive function and calibration accuracy and in the rate of change of executive function, but not in the rate of change of calibration accuracy. The age of the participants had a positive effect only on the estimated population mean of executive function.

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