Executive functioning skills and their environmental predictors among pre-school aged children in South Africa and The Gambia.

Executive functions (EFs) in early childhood are predictors of later developmental outcomes and school readiness. Much of the research on EFs and their psychosocial correlates has been conducted in high-income, minority world countries, which represent a small and biased portion of children globally. The aim of this study is to examine EFs among children aged 3-5 years in two African countries, South Africa (SA) and The Gambia (GM), and to explore shared and distinct predictors of EFs in these settings. The SA sample (N = 243, 51.9% female) was recruited from low-income communities within the Cape Town Metropolitan area. In GM, participants (N = 171, 49.7% female) were recruited from the rural West Kiang region. EFs, working memory (WM), inhibitory control (IC) and cognitive flexibility (CF), were measured using tablet-based tasks. Associations between EF task performance and indicators of socioeconomic status (household assets, caregiver education) and family enrichment factors (enrichment activities, diversity of caregivers) were assessed. Participants in SA scored higher on all EF tasks, but children in both sites predominantly scored within the expected range for their age. There were no associations between EFs and household or familial variables in SA, except for a trend-level association between caregiver education and CF. Patterns were similar in GM, where there was a trend-level association between WM and enrichment activities but no other relationships. We challenge the postulation that children in low-income settings have poorer EFs, simply due to lower socioeconomic status, but highlight the need to identify predictors of EFs in diverse, global settings. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Assessed Executive Functioning (EF) skills and their psychosocial predictors among pre-school aged children (aged 3-5 years) in two African settings (The Gambia and South Africa). On average, children within each setting performed within the expected range for their age, although children in South Africa had higher scores across tasks. There was little evidence of any association between socioeconomic variables and EFs in either site. Enrichment activities were marginally associated with better working memory in The Gambia, and caregiver education with cognitive flexibility in South Africa, both associations were trend-level significance.

Cross-sectional associations between mental health indicators and social vulnerability, with physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep in urban African young women.

BACKGROUND: Relationships between mental health and multiple health behaviours have not been explored in young South African women experiencing social constraints. The aim of this study was to identify associations between mental health indicators and risk factors with physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, amongst young women living in Soweto, a predominantly low-income, urban South African setting. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, baseline measurements for participants (n = 1719, 18.0-25.9 years old) recruited for the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative were used including: physical activity, sedentary behaviour (sitting, screen and television time), sleep (duration and quality), depression and anxiety indicators, emotional health, adverse childhood experiences, alcohol-use risk; social vulnerability, self-efficacy, and social support. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses showed that depression (ß = 0.161, p < 0.001), anxiety (ß = 0.126, p = 0.001), adverse childhood experiences (ß = 0.076, p = 0.014), and alcohol-use risk (ß = 0.089, p = 0.002) were associated with poor quality sleep. Alcohol-use risk was associated with more screen time (ß = 0.105, p < 0.001) and television time (ß = 0.075, p < 0.016). Social vulnerability was associated with lower sitting time (ß = - 0.187, p < 0001) and screen time (ß = - 0.014, p < 0.001). Higher self-efficacy was associated with more moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (ß = 0.07, p = 0.036), better-quality sleep (ß = - 0.069, p = 0.020) and less television time (ß = - 0.079, p = 0.012). Having no family support was associated with more sitting time (ß = 0.075, p = 0.022). Binomial logistic regression analyses supported these findings regarding sleep quality, with anxiety and depression risk doubling the risk of poor-quality sleep (OR = 2.425, p < 0.001, OR = 2.036, p = 0.003 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These findings contribute to our understanding of how mental health indicators and risk factors can be barriers to health behaviours of young women in Soweto, and that self-efficacy and social support can be protective for certain of these behaviours for these women. Our results highlight the uniqueness of this setting regarding associations between mental health and behaviours associated with non-communicable diseases risk.

Challenging socioeconomic status: A cross-cultural comparison of early executive function.

The widely and internationally replicated socioeconomic status (SES) gradient of executive function (EF) implies that intervention approaches may do well to extrapolate conditions and practices from contexts that generate better child outcomes (in this case, higher SES circumstances) and translate these to contexts with comparatively poorer outcomes (often low-SES populations). Yet, can the reverse also be true? Using data from equivalent assessments of 1,092 pre-schoolers' EFs in South Africa and Australia, we evaluated: the SES gradient of EF within each sample; and whether this SES gradient extended cross-culturally. The oft-found EF-SES gradients were replicated in both samples. However, contrary to the inferences of EF-SES associations found nationally, the most highly disadvantaged South African subsample outperformed middle- and high-SES Australian pre-schoolers on two of three EFs. This suggests the possibility of EF-protective and -promotive practices within low- and middle-income countries that may aid understandings of the nature and promotion of EFs.

Associations of physical activity and gross motor skills with executive function in preschool children from low-income South African settings.

Executive function is foundational for cognitive development. Previous research has shown both gross motor skills and physical activity to be related to executive function. However, evidence for these relationships in the preschool years, as well as in low- and middle-income countries is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationships between components of executive function (inhibition, shifting and working memory) and gross motor skills (locomotor skills and object control skills) in a sample of preschool children from urban and rural low-income settings in South Africa. Results revealed that inhibition and working memory, but not shifting, were associated with gross motor skills. More specifically: inhibition was associated with both locomotor [ß = 0.20, p = 0.047] and object control skills [ß = 0.24, p = 0.024], whereas working memory was only associated with locomotor skills [ß = 0.21, p = 0.039]. Physical activity was not associated with inhibition and shifting but was negatively associated with working memory. These results elaborate a growing evidence base linking executive function and gross motor skills in the early years, and it is the first to look at specific associations of locomotor and object control skills with executive function in the South African context (a low- and middle-income country).

Risk and Protective Factors for Executive Function in Vulnerable South African Preschool-Age Children.

Executive function (EF) theory and research continues to under-represent the contexts in which the majority of the world's children reside, despite their potential to support, refute, or refine our current understandings. The current study sought to contribute to our understanding of EF in low-income settings in South Africa by investigating longitudinal associations of context-specific risk and protective factors for EF development in three- to five-year-old children who had limited access to ECCE services before the age of five. Child-caregiver dyads (N = 171) participated in two rounds of data collection (approximately seven months apart) during which child EF was assessed using the Early Years Toolbox; context-specific risk and protective factors were assessed through a caregiver questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that after controlling for age, attending ECCE services at time 2 (ß = 0.30, p < 0.001), and diversity of caregivers at time 1 (ß = 0.14, p = 0.041) were the only factors positively associated with EF at time 2. Other factors commonly associated with EF such as caregiver education, and household income were not significant, while resources in the home were significantly associated with EF (ß = -0.18, p = 0.007) but in the opposite direction to what was expected. These results add to accumulating evidence that predictors of EF established in Minority World contexts may not be consistent across contexts, emphasising the need to broaden the EF evidence base. For instance, future studies could incorporate qualitative and ethnographic methods to better capture the cultural and contextual nuances relating to EF, to better inform our statistical and theoretical models.

Child exposure to violence and self-regulation in South African preschool-age children from low-income settings.

Biological and psychosocial stressors that have been associated with income include family dynamics such as household chaos, family conflict, maternal depression, harsh parenting, lower parental responsiveness, and exposure to violence. Research from high income countries has shown that exposure to violence may have detrimental effects on children's self-regulation, with possible flow-on implications for broad later-life outcomes, but less is known about such links in low- and- middle income countries, where many children live in violent communities and households and where physical punishment remains the norm. This study aimed to investigate exposure to violence, in addition to coercive parenting, and its associations with self-regulation among 243 3- to 5-year-olds (M = 4.7 ± 0.6; 51.9 % female) from low-income settings in Cape Town and who were not attending Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Results showed that self-regulation was not associated with child exposure to community violence, but it was positively associated with coercive parenting (ß = 0.17; p = 0.03). The null concurrent associations between exposure to violence and self-regulation suggest the need for additional research aimed at understanding later potential developmental sequelae. It is important that findings regarding coercive parenting are contextualised within local social norms around parenting styles, as well as the influence of living in dangerous communities on parenting practices.

The South African 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Birth to 5 Years: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sitting Behavior, Screen Time, and Sleep.

BACKGROUND: In December 2018, the South African 24-hour movement guidelines for birth to 5 years were released. This article describes the process used to develop these guidelines. METHODS: The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation-ADOLOPMENT approach was followed, with some pragmatic adaptions, using the Australian guidelines for the early years as a starting point. A consensus panel, including stakeholders in early childhood development and academics, was formed to assist with the development process. RESULTS: At a face-to-face meeting of the panel, global and local literatures were considered. Following this meeting, a first draft of the guidelines (including a preamble) was formulated. Further reviews of these drafts by the panel were done via e-mail, and a working draft was sent out for stakeholder consultation. The guidelines and preamble were amended based on stakeholder input, and an infographic was designed. Practical "tips" documents were also developed for caregivers of birth to 5-year-olds and early childhood development practitioners. The guidelines (and accompanying documents) were released at a launch event and disseminated through various media channels. CONCLUSIONS: These are the first movement guidelines for South African and the first such guidelines for this age group from a low- and middle-income country.

The (Possibly Negative) Effects of Physical Activity on Executive Functions: Implications of the Changing Metabolic Costs of Brain Development.

BACKGROUND: An area of growth in physical activity research has involved investigating effects of physical activity on children's executive functions. Many of these efforts seek to increase the energy expenditure of young children as a healthy and low-cost way to affect physical, health, and cognitive outcomes. METHODS: We review theory and research from neuroscience and evolutionary biology, which suggest that interventions seeking to increase the energy expenditure of young children must also consider the energetic trade-offs that occur to accommodate changing metabolic costs of brain development. RESULTS: According to Life History Theory, and supported by recent evidence, the high relative energy-cost of early brain development requires that other energy-demanding functions of development (ie, physical growth, activity) be curtailed. This is important for interventions seeking to dramatically increase the energy expenditure of young children who have little excess energy available, with potentially negative cognitive consequences. Less energy-demanding physical activities, in contrast, may yield psychosocial and cognitive benefits while not overburdening an underweight child's already scarce energy supply. CONCLUSIONS: While further research is required to establish the extent to which increases in energy-demanding physical activities may compromise or displace energy available for brain development, we argue that action cannot await these findings.