Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Betsy Hoza
Abstract
The goal of the current study was to investigate whether three aspects of executive functioning (EF, i.e., inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) may help to explain the negative association between preschoolers’ ADHD symptom levels and adaptive social functioning. Participants included a community-based sample of eighty-two preschoolers (54.9% male; Mage = 3.89, SDage = .77) and their parents/guardians. As part of a larger study visit, children completed performance-based EF tasks and an assessment of their knowledge of socially competent responses. Parents/guardians rated their child’s ADHD symptom levels, EF problems, and prosocial behavior. After considering issues of power and a lack of associations between several EF and social functioning variables, four models were ultimately included in the study’s primary analyses: one multiple mediator model examining the overall and specific indirect effects of ADHD symptom levels on prosocial behavior through parent ratings of EF problems, and three simple mediation models examining the specific indirect effects of ADHD symptom levels on prosocial behavior through each parent-rated EF indicator. In the context of the multiple mediation model, there was a significant total indirect effect through the set of EF indicators and a marginal specific indirect effect through cognitive flexibility problems. Further, the negative association between ADHD symptom levels and prosocial behavior was no longer significant. Simple mediation models examining each parent-rated EF indicator revealed a significant indirect effect of ADHD symptom levels on prosocial behavior through cognitive flexibility problems and marginal specific indirect effects through inhibitory control and working memory problems. Findings suggest that preschoolers’ EF, particularly cognitive flexibility, may help to explain the negative association between preschool ADHD symptom levels and prosocial behavior. However, inconsistent associations between ADHD symptom levels, EF indicators, and social functioning indicators highlight the need for further research. Implications for early childhood interventions aimed at promoting EF are discussed, including their potential for promoting adaptive social functioning among young children with elevated ADHD symptoms.
Language
en
Number of Pages
84 p.
Recommended Citation
Krasner, Allison, "Associations Between Preschool ADHD Symptom Levels and Social Functioning: Indirect Effects Through Executive Functioning" (2024). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 1851.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1851