Towards an Integrative Model of Math Cognition: Interactions between Working Memory and Emotions in Explaining Children's Math Performance.

Individual variation in mathematical skills can be ascribed to differences in cognitive ability, but also to students' emotional experiences of mathematics, such as enjoyment and anxiety. The current study investigated how the interplay of working memory with math anxiety and enjoyment explains mathematical performance in primary school students. We also explored whether these relations differed with the type of math test and students' age. Using mixed effect models, we reanalyzed data from 4471 Dutch primary school students (grades 2-6) who had completed two computerized working memory tasks, had filled out a questionnaire on math emotions, and had completed two math tests: story problems and speeded arithmetic. Findings showed that working memory, anxiety, and enjoyment were linear (but not curvilinear) predictors of performance on both tests, while some relations were stronger for the math (story)-problem-solving test. Higher math anxiety negatively impacted performance more strongly for students with stronger working memory skills, but only on the arithmetic test. No interaction between working memory and enjoyment was found. The relation between math anxiety and math performance increased with grade level, but no other age-related changes were found. Interpretations and recommendations focus on situated views on learning and emotion.

Sex differences in the association of math achievement with visual-spatial and verbal working memory: Does the type of math test matter?

Previous research on sex differences in mathematical achievement shows mixed findings, which have been argued to depend on types of math tests used and the type of solution strategies (i.e., verbal versus visual-spatial) these tests evoke. The current study evaluated sex differences in (a) performance (development) on two types of math tests in primary schools and (b) the predictive value of verbal and visual-spatial working memory on math achievement. Children (N = 3175) from grades 2 through five participated. Visual-spatial and verbal working memory were assessed using online computerized tasks. Math performance was assessed five times during two school years using a speeded arithmetic test (math fluency) and a word problem test (math problem solving). Results from Multilevel Multigroup Latent Growth Modeling, showed that sex differences in level and growth of math performance were mixed and very small. Sex differences in the predictive value of verbal and visual-spatial working memory for math performance suggested that boys seemed to rely more on verbal strategies than girls. Explanations focus on cognitive and emotional factors and how these may interact to possibly amplify sex differences as children grow older.

Classroom versus individual working memory assessment: predicting academic achievement and the role of attention and response inhibition.

Working memory (WM) is an important predictor for academic learning and achievement. Typically, children's WM is assessed in controlled testing situations, which might not reflect functioning in typical classroom learning situations with natural distractions. In this study, we compared WM performance in controlled and classroom situations and their predictive value for academic achievement. Also, we examined whether performance differences between situations were moderated by attention or response inhibition. In a within-subjects design, primary school children completed visuospatial and verbal WM tasks in two settings (classroom versus controlled individual setting). First, WM functioning was lower in the classroom setting. Second, attention moderated individual differences in this discrepancy between settings, but response inhibition did not. Third, classroom obtained verbal WM scores were the strongest predictors of academic achievement. Our results indicate that classroom assessment of verbal WM provides a more ecologically valid measurement of WM abilities in a real-life learning situation.

Does the development of executive functioning in infants born preterm benefit from maternal directiveness?

OBJECTIVE: Problems in early development of executive functioning may underlie the vulnerability and individual variability of infants born preterm for behavioral and learning problems. Parenting behaviors may aggravate or temper this increased risk for dysfunction. This study assessed how maternal parenting behaviors predict individual differences in early development of executive functioning in infants born preterm, and whether this varies with infant temperament, i.e., self-regulation. METHODS: Participants were 76 infants born preterm (≤36weeks' gestation and <2500g birth weight) and their mothers. Maternal sensitive responsiveness and directiveness were observed during a mother-infant interaction situation at 7, 10 and 14months corrected age. At the same ages, executive functioning was measured using the A-not-B task. An infant self-regulation questionnaire (IBQ-R) was completed by mothers at 7months. RESULTS: After controlling for perinatal risk factors, Multivariate Latent Growth Modeling showed that consistently higher levels of maternal directiveness predicted a stronger increase in A-not-B performance, which did not vary with infant self-regulation. No relationship between maternal sensitive responsiveness and development in A-not-B performance in infants born preterm was found. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that preterm infants' early executive functioning development in the first year of life may benefit from a more and consistent directive approach by their mothers. These findings have important implications for early intervention programs aimed at facilitating preterm infants' development.

The Monkey game: A computerized verbal working memory task for self-reliant administration in primary school children.

In two studies, the psychometric properties of an online self-reliant verbal working memory task (the Monkey game) for primary school children (6-12 years of age) were examined. In Study 1, children (n = 5,203) from 31 primary schools participated. The participants completed computerized verbal and visual-spatial working memory tasks (i.e., the Monkey game and the Lion game) and a paper-and-pencil version of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Reading comprehension and math achievement test scores were obtained from the schools. First, the internal consistency of the Monkey game was examined. Second, multilevel modeling was used to examine the effects of classroom membership. Multilevel multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the Monkey game's concurrent relationship with the Lion game and its predictive relationships with reading comprehension and math achievement. Also, age-related differences in performance were examined. In Study 2, the concurrent relationships between the Monkey game and two tester-led computerized working memory tasks were further examined (n = 140). Also, the 1- and 2-year stability of the Monkey game was investigated. The Monkey game showed excellent internal consistency, good concurrent relationships with the other working memory measures, and significant age differences in performance. Performance on the Monkey game was also predictive of subsequent reading comprehension and mathematics performance, even after controlling for individual differences in intelligence. Performance on the Monkey game was influenced by classroom membership. The Monkey game is a reliable and suitable instrument for the online computerized and self-reliant assessment of verbal working memory in primary school children.

Verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical ability in different domains throughout primary school.

The relative importance of visual-spatial and verbal working memory for mathematics performance and learning seems to vary with age, the novelty of the material, and the specific math domain that is investigated. In this study, the relations between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and performance in four math domains (i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) at different ages during primary school are investigated. Children (N = 4337) from grades 2 through 6 participated. Visual-spatial and verbal working memory were assessed using online computerized tasks. Math performance was assessed at the start, middle, and end of the school year using a speeded arithmetic test. Multilevel Multigroup Latent Growth Modeling was used to model individual differences in level and growth in math performance, and examine the predictive value of working memory per grade, while controlling for effects of classroom membership. The results showed that as grade level progressed, the predictive value of visual-spatial working memory for individual differences in level of mathematics performance waned, while the predictive value of verbal working memory increased. Working memory did not predict individual differences between children in their rate of performance growth throughout the school year. These findings are discussed in relation to three, not mutually exclusive, explanations for such age-related findings.

Validity and reliability of an online visual-spatial working memory task for self-reliant administration in school-aged children.

Working memory is an important predictor of academic performance, and of math performance in particular. Most working memory tasks depend on one-to-one administration by a testing assistant, which makes the use of such tasks in large-scale studies time-consuming and costly. Therefore, an online, self-reliant visual-spatial working memory task (the Lion game) was developed for primary school children (6-12 years of age). In two studies, the validity and reliability of the Lion game were investigated. The results from Study 1 (n = 442) indicated satisfactory six-week test-retest reliability, excellent internal consistency, and good concurrent and predictive validity. The results from Study 2 (n = 5,059) confirmed the results on the internal consistency and predictive validity of the Lion game. In addition, multilevel analysis revealed that classroom membership influenced Lion game scores. We concluded that the Lion game is a valid and reliable instrument for the online computerized and self-reliant measurement of visual-spatial working memory (i.e., updating).

Mindful Parenting Assessed Further: Psychometric Properties of the Dutch Version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P).

Psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P) were studied in a general population sample of mothers of adolescents (n=866) (study 1). A six-factor structure (29 items) emerged using exploratory factor analysis. A main difference from the original IM-P was that aspects of compassion and emotional awareness were separated into different factors for the self and the child, instead of combined into one factor. In a second general population sample of mothers of adolescents (n=.99), the six-factor structure was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis (study 2). The proposed 29-item version of the IM-P and its subscales were shown to have good internal consistencies, apart from the sixth factor. As expected, a high correlation was found with general mindfulness questionnaires (FFMQ and FMI). Furthermore, the IM-P correlated positively as expected with quality of life and optimism and negatively with depression and dysfunctional parenting styles. These expected indications of construct validity were found in study 2, as well as in mothers (n=112) of adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (study 3) which was added to examine whether the Dutch version of the IM-P was also valid in a pediatric population. Overall, these three studies present good psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the first measure of mindful parenting.

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD.

The effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness training for adolescents aged 11-15 years with ADHD and parallel Mindful Parenting training for their parents was evaluated, using questionnaires as well as computerized attention tests. Adolescents (N = 10), their parents (N = 19) and tutors (N = 7) completed measurements before, immediately after, 8 weeks after and 16 weeks after training. Adolescents reported on their attention and behavioral problems and mindful awareness, and were administered two computerized sustained attention tasks. Parents as well as tutors reported on adolescents' attention and behavioral problems and executive functioning. Parents further reported on their own parenting, parenting stress and mindful awareness. Both the mindfulness training for the adolescents and their parents was delivered in group format. First, after mindfulness training, adolescents' attention and behavior problems reduced, while their executive functioning improved, as indicated by self-report measures as well as by father and teacher report. Second, improvements in adolescent' actual performance on attention tests were found after mindfulness training. Moreover, fathers, but not mothers, reported reduced parenting stress. Mothers reported reduced overreactive parenting, whereas fathers reported an increase. No effect on mindful awareness of adolescents or parents was found. Effects of mindfulness training became stronger at 8-week follow-up, but waned at 16-week follow-up. Our study adds to the emerging body of evidence indicating that mindfulness training for adolescents with ADHD (and their parents) is an effective approach, but maintenance strategies need to be developed in order for this approach to be effective in the longer term.

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A): Psychometric Properties in a Dutch Sample.

The factor structure and psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A) was studied in a sample of adolescents (n = 717; age range, 11-17 years) of the general population. The MAAS-A and other questionnaires measuring other constructs were administered in high schools across the Netherlands. A one-factor structure was demonstrated using principal component analysis and was further confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. The MAAS-A was shown to have high internal consistency. Expected negative correlations between mindfulness and self-reported stress and emotion regulation strategies such as rumination and catastrophizing were found. Further, mindfulness was positively correlated with happiness, healthy self-regulation, and with another recently developed measure of mindfulness in children and adolescents, the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure. Mindfulness as measured by the MAAS-A correlated positively with quality of life, but an expected positive relationship with acceptance was not found. Interestingly, adolescents without meditation experience scored higher on the MAAS-A than adolescents without this experience. Further, adolescents with chronic disorders scored lower on the MAAS-A than adolescents without these disorders. Overall, this study has shown evidence of the first valid and reliable Dutch measure of mindfulness for adolescents. The factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent and divergent validity as well as their relationship to quality of life are comparable to the original MAAS-A.

Individual differences in developmental trajectories of A-not-B performance in infants born preterm.

Because early executive functioning is a potentially important predictor of developmental delay and learning difficulties in infants born preterm, this study assessed the effect of several perinatal predictors on the development of A-not-B performance between 7 and 14 months corrected age in 76 infants born preterm, and its relationship to subsequent global cognitive functioning. Latent Growth Modeling showed that gestational age was a predictor of initial level, and that birth weight and gender were predictors of the rate of developmental change in A-not-B performance. Moreover, initial level and rate of developmental change in A-not-B performance were predictive of global cognitive functioning.

Attention development in infants and preschool children born preterm: a review.

A potential mechanism that can explain preterm children's heightened risk for the development of later cognitive and behavioral problems is attention. Attention is the ability of an infant or child to orient to, to shift between and to maintain focus on events, objects, tasks, and problems in the external world, processes which are all dependent on the functioning of attentional networks in the brain. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the literature on attention development in children born preterm during the first 4 years of life. First, research examining the differences between preterm and full-term children indicates that early attention development in infants born preterm is less optimal and that these differences increase when infants grow into toddlers. Second, studies investigating individual differences within preterm populations reveal the influence of both biological factors and environmental factors. Third, individual differences in early orienting and sustained attention have been shown to be predictive of later attentional, cognitive and behavioral functioning in children born preterm. The importance of long-term follow-up studies, with a focus on individual developmental trajectories in orienting, sustained and executive attention, is emphasized.