Open AccessRelationship Between Task-Based and Parent Report-Based Measures of Attention and Executive Function in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
Author(s) -
Julia T. Mattson,
John C. Thorne,
Sara T. Kover
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of pediatric neuropsychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2199-2673
pISSN - 2199-2681
DOI - 10.1007/s40817-020-00089-0
Subject(s) - psychology , temperament , cognition , executive functions , developmental psychology , fetal alcohol , task (project management) , continuous performance task , fetal alcohol spectrum disorder , association (psychology) , audiology , clinical psychology , alcohol , medicine , psychiatry , pregnancy , social psychology , personality , psychotherapist , chemistry , management , economics , biochemistry , biology , genetics
A majority of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have demonstrated attention and executive function deficits as measured by both parent report measures and performance on tasks requiring sustained levels of attention. However, prior studies have consistently reported a lack of association between parental report-based and task-based performance measures. The current study investigated whether changes in performance over time within-task (i.e., first-half versus second-half) better correspond to parental reports of executive function and temperament in children with FASD. Greater differences in split-half performance during a continuous performance task were found to be associated with higher parent-reported levels of behavioral regulation and inhibitory control. These findings suggest that within-task performance differences may more accurately reflect individual differences in executive function and temperament as measured by parental report and help to further inform the way in which cognitive processes are measured in children with FASD.