Understanding the Associations Among Executive Function, Self-regulation, Chronic Stress, and Math Learning Outcomes Across Middle Childhood

Abstract

Existing evidence suggests that having better math skills is associated with having better reading skills, higher socioeconomic status, and general academic motivation - yet, over 60% of the U.S. population is not proficient in math. While math instruction plays a large role in math learning, executive function (EF) and its core components, working memory (WM), inhibitory control (IC), and cognitive flexibility (CF), as well as self-regulation (SR) and chronic stress, are each also associated with children's math learning outcomes (MLO). However, most evidence comes from early childhood and, to date, no study has simultaneously investigated the contribution of those three constructs to MLO across middle childhood, despite this developmental period being a crucial one to acquire foundational math skills. In addition, middle childhood is characterized by the rapid development of EF and SR, and evidence suggests that CS would be detrimental to both developmental trajectories. The present dissertation examined how three core EF skills - WM, IC, and CF - along with SR and CS, were simultaneously associated with MLO, and whether those associations differed across developmental periods, namely, early middle childhood (EMC) and late middle childhood (LMC). It was hypothesized that the associations among MLO and each core EF, as well as MLO and SR, would be positive and stronger for LMC compared to EMC, while the relation between MLO and CS would be negative and weaker for LMC compared to EMC. Children (N = 133) completed one in-person session. WM, IC, and CF were each assessed with NIH Toolbox tests, SR was assessed with the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task, and CS was measured by caregiver report via the Child Life Challenges Scale. MLO was assessed by the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Academic Achievement Applied Problems. Regression analyses predicting MLO with WM, IC, CF, SR, and CS as simultaneous predictors were conducted, with covariates of child age, child gender, and cumulative poverty-related risk (CPRR), a z-score composite of variables associated with living in poverty. Results showed that only WM and SR, but not IC, CF, or CS, were significant and positive predictors of MLO across middle childhood in the simultaneous model. Additional regression analyses explored a potential moderation effect of developmental period (DP), namely EMC and LMC, on the association between each of the predictors of interest and MLO. Only the interaction term between CS and DP was significant. However, when probing the interaction, the simple slopes for EMC and LMC were not significant. Results highlight the relative importance of WM and SR in relation to MLO across middle childhood. Although for this sample CS was not associated with MLO above and beyond WM and SR, future studies could assess additional dimensions of CS (e.g., physiological aspects) in a more diverse population, as well as recruiting larger sample sizes allowing further exploration of a moderation effect. For caregivers and educators, understanding the simultaneous contributions of EF, SR, and CS to MLO could provide evidence key to the design of grade-level specific interventions supporting EF and SR development, which could promote students' MLO during the foundational years of elementary school.