A Latent Variable Approach to Determining the Structure of Executive Function in Preschool Children

• Published in: Journal of cognition and development Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 395 - 423
• Main Authors: Miller, Michael R., Giesbrecht, Gerald F., Müller, Ulrich, McInerney, Robert J., Kerns, Kimberly A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Colchester Taylor & Francis Group 01.07.2012; Psychology Press; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Child; Child development; Cognition & reasoning; Correlation; Developmental psychology; Discriminant analysis; Executive Function; Factor Analysis; Factor Structure; Foreign Countries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Goodness of Fit; Inhibition; Memory; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; Preschool Children; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Short Term Memory; Canada; Human; Preschool age; Executive function; Confirmatory factor analysis; Cognition; Latent variable model; Cognitive development; Child
• ISSN: 1524-8372; 1532-7647
• DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2011.585478

The composition of executive function (EF) in preschool children was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A sample of 129 children between 3 and 5 years of age completed a battery of EF tasks. Using performance indicators of working memory and inhibition similar to previous CFA studies with preschoolers, we replicated a unitary EF factor structure. Next, additional performance indicators were included to distinctly measure working memory, set shifting, and inhibition factors. A two-factor model consisting of working memory and inhibition fit the data better than both a single-factor model and a three-factor model. Findings suggest that the structure of EF in preschoolers that emerges from CFA is influenced by task and performance indicator selection.