RESUMO
The development of executive functions (EF) is recognizably correlated to culture, contextual and social factors. However, studies considering all the basic EF are still scarce in Brazil, most notably in the Northeast region, which is known for its social inequality and economic gap. This study aimed to analyze the developmental trajectories and structure of four EF, namely inhibition, flexibility, working memory and planning. In addition, the potential effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and gender were examined. The sample included 230 Brazilian children between 7-12 years old, homogeneously distributed by age, gender and type of school. The EF were assessed through the Brazilian version of the Child Executive Functions Battery (CEF-B). A global effect of age was found for most of the EF measures evaluated. Gender effect was mostly non-significant, except for 4 of the 12 tasks. There was a significant SES effect on 8 tasks, all in favor of private school children. Exploratory factorial and correlation analysis showed a 4-factor EF structure, corroborating the theoretical distribution considered in the CEF-B. A developmental progression is evident in the results for all of the EF measures evaluated. While gender had little influence on EF, SES seems to significantly impact the development of EF. As normative data are still lacking in Northeast Brazil, this study may help to understand EF development trajectories and provide tools for neuropsychological evaluation.
RESUMO
This study aimed to describe the processes of translation and cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Childhood Executive Functions Battery (CEF-B), designed to evaluate executive functions in children and adolescents from 6 to 16 years of age. Six steps were carried out to ensure the quality of the processes: 1) instrument translation into the new language; 2) synthesis of the translated versions; 3) evaluation of the synthesized version by experts; 4) evaluation by the target population; 5) back-translation and 6) pilot study. We sought to ensure the translation and adaptation properties of the CEF-B in terms of semantic, idiomatic, experiential and cultural equivalence between the instructions in the original language and the target language. Results showed preliminary evidence of cultural adequacy and a satisfactory comprehension of the instrument instructions by the target population. (AU)
Este estudo objetiva descrever os procedimentos de tradução e adaptação transcultural para o português brasileiro do Protocolo Funções Executivas em Crianças (FEC), voltado para a avaliação das funções executivas de crianças e adolescentes de 6 a 16 anos. Para garantir a qualidade do processo, foram realizadas seis etapas: 1) tradução do instrumento do idioma de origem para o idioma-alvo; 2) síntese das versões traduzidas; 3) avaliação por experts; 4) avaliação pelo público-alvo; 5) tradução reversa e 6) estudo piloto. Buscou-se assegurar as propriedades da tradução e adaptação do protocolo FEC, em termos de equivalência semântica, idiomática, experiencial e cultural entre as instruções no idioma original e no idioma-alvo. Os resultados apontaram evidências iniciais de adequação cultural e boa compreensão das instruções do instrumento pelo público-alvo. (AU)
Este estudio objetiva describir los procedimientos de traducción y adaptación transcultural del protocolo Funciones Ejecutivas en Niños (FEN) para el portugués brasileño, dirigido a la evaluación de las funciones ejecutivas de los niños y adolescentes de 6 a 16 años. Para garantizar la calidad del proceso, se realizaron 6 etapas: 1) traducción del instrumento del idioma de origen al idioma de destino; 2) síntesis de las versiones traducidas; 3) evaluación por expertos; 4) evaluación por el público objetivo; 5) traducción inversa y 6) estudio piloto. Se buscó garantizar las propiedades de la traducción y adaptación del protocolo FEN, en términos de equivalencia semántica, idiomática, experiencial y cultural entre las instrucciones en el idioma original y en el idioma de destino. Los resultados apuntaron evidencias iniciales de adecuación cultural y buena comprensión de las instrucciones del instrumento por el público objetivo. (AU)
