TY - JOUR
T1 - Developmental changes in attentional performance in urban children from eight to thirteen years
AU - Rebok, George W.
AU - Smith, Corey B.
AU - Pascualvaca, Daisy M.
AU - Mirsky, Allan F.
AU - Anthony, Bruno J.
AU - Kellam, Sheppard G.
N1 - Funding Information:
’ We thank the students, teachers, parents, and staff of the Baltimore City Public School system who are our collaborators in the Prevention Program. We thank Susan L. Yardley for her assistance in data collection, Audrey Weinberg and Suzanne Nourizadeh for their assistance in statistical analyses, and Dr. John Ingeholm for his help with the CPT equipment. The studies on which this article is based have been supported by the following grants: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Grant No. P50 MH38725, Epidemiologic Prevention Center for Early Risk Behavior; NIMH Grant No. lROl MH42968, Periodic Outcome of Two Preventive Trials; NIMH Research Contracts. Address correspondence to: Dr. George W. Rebok, Department of Mental Hygiene, School of Hygiene and Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Accepted for publication to: November 10, 1996.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - In an earlier study of an epidemiological sample of 435 urban 8-year-old children, factor analytically-derived components of attention, as assessed by neuropsychological tests, were identified and were found to be significantly related to adaptive functioning. In this study we followed that cohort longitudinally and assessed developmental changes in specific aspects of attentional function into early adolescence. Significant reductions in omission errors and improvements in reaction times were found from ages 8 to 13 years on different versions of the Continuous Performance Task, a measure of sustained attention, with the effects varying by task difficulty level and subjects' gender. Significant improvements across age also were found on measures of the ability to focus attention and execute a response, shift attentional focus, and encode information in memory. In general, the most rapid changes in attention occurred between ages 8 to 10 years with more gradual changes occurring between ages 10 to 13. The results highlight the importance of developmental epidemiological approaches for assessing and predicting the normal evolution of attentional function in school-aged children.
AB - In an earlier study of an epidemiological sample of 435 urban 8-year-old children, factor analytically-derived components of attention, as assessed by neuropsychological tests, were identified and were found to be significantly related to adaptive functioning. In this study we followed that cohort longitudinally and assessed developmental changes in specific aspects of attentional function into early adolescence. Significant reductions in omission errors and improvements in reaction times were found from ages 8 to 13 years on different versions of the Continuous Performance Task, a measure of sustained attention, with the effects varying by task difficulty level and subjects' gender. Significant improvements across age also were found on measures of the ability to focus attention and execute a response, shift attentional focus, and encode information in memory. In general, the most rapid changes in attention occurred between ages 8 to 10 years with more gradual changes occurring between ages 10 to 13. The results highlight the importance of developmental epidemiological approaches for assessing and predicting the normal evolution of attentional function in school-aged children.
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U2 - 10.1080/09297049708401366
DO - 10.1080/09297049708401366
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0030789467
SN - 0929-7049
VL - 3
SP - 28
EP - 46
JO - Child Neuropsychology
JF - Child Neuropsychology
IS - 1
ER -