Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug;27(6):709-717.
doi: 10.1080/09297049.2021.1888905. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

NIH Toolbox executive function measures with developmental extensions: Reliability and validity with preschoolers in emergency housing

Rebecca Distefano  1 , Aria E Fiat  2 , Jillian S Merrick  3 , Jerry Slotkin  4 , Philip David Zelazo  5 , Stephanie M Carlson  5 , Ann S Masten  5
Affiliations

NIH Toolbox executive function measures with developmental extensions: Reliability and validity with preschoolers in emergency housing

Rebecca Distefano et al. Child Neuropsychol. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Research has shown that executive function (EF) skills are associated with resilience in preschoolers experiencing risk and adversity, but these studies have typically relied on large batteries of tasks to measure children's EF skills. There is a need for brief, reliable EF assessments that can be used in the field with diverse young children. The current study assessed the validity and test-retest reliability of two tablet-based EF tasks from the NIH Toolbox: The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) and the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test, each with a developmental extension (Dext) that is triggered when a child struggles with the standardized versions. Dext versions include easier levels intended to improve task accessibility for younger and disadvantaged children. Eighty-six preschoolers residing in emergency housing participated in two study sessions about one week apart, completing tablet-based DCCS-Dext and Flanker-Dext tasks, along with a table-top EF task (Peg-Tapping) and measures of vocabulary and numeracy. The majority of participants triggered the Dext portion of the DCCS and almost half triggered the Dext portion of the Flanker, underscoring the need for extensions of the Toolbox EF tasks to lower the floor of these measures. The Dext EF measures were positively associated with Peg-Tapping, after controlling for age and vocabulary, indicating construct validity. They were also correlated with math achievement, suggesting criterion validity. DCCS-Dext and Flanker-Dext showed moderate test-retest reliability after one week. Together, these findings demonstrate the value of developmental extensions for assessing EF skills among children experiencing risk and adversity.

Keywords: Early childhood; executive function measures; risk and adversity; test-retest reliability; validity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Range of scores on the DCCS-Dext and Flanker-Dext at Time 1. Note. The points below the line represent participants who used the Dext levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Allan NP, Hume LE, Allan DM, Farrington AL, & Lonigan CJ (2014). Relations between inhibitory control and the development of academic skills in preschool and kindergarten: A meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 50, 2368–2379. 10.1037/a0037493 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amalric M, & Dehaene S (2017). Cortical circuits for mathematical knowledge: Evidence for a major subdivision within the brain’s semantic networks. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 373, 20160515. 10.1098/rstb.2016.0515 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anderson JE, Zelazo PD, Carlson SM, Kalstabakken AW, & Masten AS (2015). Technical Report for the Flanker-Developmental Extension.
    1. Beck DM, Schaefer C, Pang K, & Carlson SM (2011). Executive function in preschool children: Test-retest reliability. Journal of Cognition and Development, 2, 169–193. 10.1080/15248372.2011.563485 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blair C, & Raver CC (2012). Child development in the context of adversity: Experiential canalization of brain and behavior. American Psychologist, 67, 309–318. 10.1037/a0027493 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources