RESEARCH FINDINGS: This study examined whether children's executive functions before kindergarten would predict variance in executive functions after kindergarten. We obtained behavioral (working memory task performance), parental-reported (temperament-based inhibitory control), and psychophysiological (working memory-related changes in heart rate and brain electrical activity) measures of exec...

one of the identified risk factors for anxiety disorders in adolescence and adulthood is inhibited behaviors in childhood. the present study sought to examine the relationship between behavioral inhibition with some of the internal (personal) and external (family environment) factors in a sample of preschool children in kindergartens. in a cross sectional study in 2009, data was collected troug...

the aim of this study was to identify the species and prevalence of house dust mites (hdms) in kindergartens in bandar abbas, south of iran. in this study 10 kindergartens were selected randomly in five areas of bandar abbas. two dust samples were collected from each sampling place with a vacuum cleaner. mites were isolated and mounted in hoyer's medium and identified using a morphology-based k...

There has been increasing awareness of the need for research and theory to take into account the intersection of individual characteristics and environmental contexts when examining predictors of child outcomes. The present longitudinal, multi-informant study examined the cumulative and interacting contributions of child characteristics (language skills, inattention/hyperactivity, and aggressio...

Recent research indicates that children’s learning-related skills (including self-regulation and social competence) contribute to early school success. The present study investigated the relation of kindergarten learning-related skills to reading and math trajectories in 538 children between kindergarten and sixth grade, and examined how children with poor learning-related skills fared througho...

KINDERGARTEN FINE MOTOR SKILLS AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION: TWO NON-ACADEMIC PREDICTORS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Abby G. Carlson, Ph.D. George Mason University, 2013 Dissertation Director: Dr. Timothy W. Curby Recent research has found that children’s fine motor skills and executive function prior to elementary school are associated with later academic achievement. The current study explored this ass...

We examine the relationship between children's kindergarten attention skills and developmental patterns of classroom engagement throughout elementary school in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. Kindergarten measures include teacher ratings of classroom behavior, direct assessments of number knowledge and receptive vocabulary, and parent-reported family characteristics. From grades 1 through 6...

Preschool years (ages 3-5) are a critical period in growth and development. Emerging studies suggest that preschool attendance may be linked to future weight, and perhaps obesity. This study examined relationships between public preschool attendance, demographic variables, and weight at kindergarten entry. Participants included 2,400 children entering kindergarten in 2006. Height and weight wer...

Children's behavioral self-regulation and executive function (EF; including attentional or cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control) are strong predictors of academic achievement. The present study examined the psychometric properties of a measure of behavioral self-regulation called the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) by assessing construct validity, including relations t...