TY - JOUR
T1 - Attentional and executive function behaviours in children with poor working memory
AU - Gathercole, Susan E.
AU - Alloway, Tracy P.
AU - Kirkwood, Hannah J.
AU - Elliott, Julian G.
AU - Holmes, Joni
AU - Hilton, Kerry A.
PY - 2008/1
Y1 - 2008/1
N2 - The purpose of this study was to explore the profiles of classroom behaviour relating to attention and executive functions in children with very poor working memory, and to test the hypothesis that inattentive behaviour and working memory problems co-occur. Teachers rated problem behaviours of 52 children with low working memory scores aged 5/6 and 9/10 years on teacher rating measures of attention and executive function behaviours. The majority of children with low working memory scores obtained atypically high ratings of cognitive problems/ inattentive symptoms, and were judged to have short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, problems in monitoring the quality of their work, and difficulties in generating new solutions to problems. These results extend previous findings that working memory problems and inattentive behaviour co-occur to a non-clinical sample. It is suggested that reduced working memory capacity may play a causal role in the problem behaviours of these children.
AB - The purpose of this study was to explore the profiles of classroom behaviour relating to attention and executive functions in children with very poor working memory, and to test the hypothesis that inattentive behaviour and working memory problems co-occur. Teachers rated problem behaviours of 52 children with low working memory scores aged 5/6 and 9/10 years on teacher rating measures of attention and executive function behaviours. The majority of children with low working memory scores obtained atypically high ratings of cognitive problems/ inattentive symptoms, and were judged to have short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, problems in monitoring the quality of their work, and difficulties in generating new solutions to problems. These results extend previous findings that working memory problems and inattentive behaviour co-occur to a non-clinical sample. It is suggested that reduced working memory capacity may play a causal role in the problem behaviours of these children.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-42249095411&partnerID=MN8TOARS
U2 - 10.1016/j.lindif.2007.10.003
DO - 10.1016/j.lindif.2007.10.003
M3 - Article
VL - 18
SP - 214
EP - 223
JO - Learning and Individual Differences
JF - Learning and Individual Differences
SN - 1041-6080
IS - 2
ER -