Understanding Working Memory and Mathematics Development in Ethnically/Racially Minoritized Children through an Integrative Theory Lens.

Limited research on working memory has centered on ethnically/racially minoritized children, thereby limiting researchers' abilities to draw conclusions about working memory or to provide additional supports in cultivating working memory for these children. Using the Integrative Theory as a lens, the current study explored the predictive benefit of parent academic socialization strategies on the working memory and subsequent mathematics skills of a nationally representative sample of ethnically/racially minoritized children. Using structural equation modeling techniques, a path model including social position; family structure; leisure activities; parent academic socialization strategies; and their association with kindergarten Asian/Asian-American (N = 1211), Black (N = 1927), and Latine (N = 3671) children's working memory and first-grade mathematics skills were examined. Furthermore, multigroup moderation was used to test for differences between ethnic/racial groups. Connections to social capital theory, community cultural wealth, and culturally relevant interpretations of the study findings are discussed.

The benefits of math activities depend on the skills children bring to the table.

Playing board games and other math activities can provide young children with opportunities to develop their math skills. However, it is critical to understand for whom these activities may be most beneficial. In two studies, we examine the extent to which foundational cognitive skills moderate the effects of playing math games on math skills. In Study 1, we look cross-sectionally at the association between parents' frequency of math activities with their 3- to 4-year-old children (N = 124) and children's math achievement, examining the extent to which children's skills moderate this relation. We find that frequent math activities are only associated with better math performance for children with better number knowledge. In Study 2, we test this experimentally by randomly assigning parents and children (N = 76) to play with a number-related board game, an active control board game, or a business-as-usual control group. Controlling for number knowledge, inhibitory control, and vocabulary at pretest, no differences in math skills at posttest were observed between the training groups. However, a significant interaction emerged between training group assignment and number knowledge, such that children with higher pretest number knowledge had higher posttest math scores when assigned to the number board game condition compared to the two control conditions, but no differences among conditions were seen for children with lower number knowledge. Collectively, these findings suggest that math activities may be most beneficial for math skills when children have stronger number knowledge and underscore the need for tailoring activities to children's current skill level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Task features change the relation between math anxiety and number line estimation performance with rational numbers: Two large-scale online studies.

Math performance is negatively related to math anxiety (MA), though MA may impact certain math skills more than others. We investigated whether the relation between MA and math performance is affected by task features, such as number type (e.g., fractions, whole numbers, percentages), number format (symbolic vs. nonsymbolic), and ratio component size (small vs. large). Across two large-scale studies (combined n = 3,822), the MA-performance relation was strongest for large whole numbers and fractions, and stronger for symbolic than nonsymbolic fractions. The MA-performance relation was also stronger for smaller relative to larger components, and MA relating to specific number types may be a better predictor of performance than general MA for certain tasks. The relation between MA and estimation performance changes depending on task features, which suggests that MA may relate to certain math skills more than others, which may have implications for how people reason with numerical information and may inform future interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of executive function in shaping the longitudinal stability of math achievement during early elementary grades.

There is substantial rank-order stability in children's mathematical skills throughout development. Research has shown that children who enter school with relatively low math skills are unlikely to catch up to peers who begin kindergarten with more developed math skills. Emerging evidence suggests that children's executive function skills might play an important role in shaping the rate and stability of mathematical skill development during early development. Therefore in the present study, we used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort 2010-11-a prospective sample of over 18,000 children in the United States-to examine executive function as an antecedent to characteristics of growth in math skills and to test whether executive function moderates the longitudinal stability of math achievement from kindergarten through second grade. Latent growth curve models reveal that executive function is related to not only the level of math skills at school entry but also to the rate of growth in early elementary years. Moreover, we found that executive function moderated the stability of math achievement from kindergarten to second grade, suggesting that early executive function skills can serve as a compensatory mechanism for children who enter school with lower levels of mathematical skills. These findings might have important implications for narrowing gaps in math achievement during early elementary school.

Screen Time in the Coronavirus 2019 Era: International Trends of Increasing Use Among 3- to 7-Year-Old Children.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in electronic screen-based media use in 3- to 7-year-old children across 6 countries as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Between April and July 2020, parents of 2516 children completed online survey measures reporting current ("now") and retrospective ("before the pandemic") screen-based media use for the purposes of entertainment, educational app use, and socializing with family and friends. Parents also reported family socioeconomic characteristics and impacts of the pandemic to their physical wellbeing (eg, whether a family member or friend had been diagnosed with COVID-19) and social disruption (eg, whether family experienced a loss of income or employment due to the pandemic). RESULTS: On average, children engaged with screens more than 50 minutes more during the pandemic than before. This was largely driven by increases in screen use for entertainment purposes (nearly 40 minutes) and for use of educational apps (over 20 minutes). There was no overall change in screen use for socializing with family and friends. Children from lower socioeconomic status households increased screen use both for entertainment and educational app use more so than did children from higher socioeconomic status households. CONCLUSIONS: The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has increased overall electronic screen-based media use. As lives become increasingly digital by necessity, further research is needed to better understand positive and negative consequences of electronic screen-based media use.

Screens across the pond: Findings from longitudinal screen time research in the US and UK.

Digital media are increasingly pervasive in the lives of young children. This increase in the availability of digital media might have long-run implications for child development; however, it is too soon to definitively conclude the direction of effects. In part due to this lack of certainty, leading health organizations have chosen to make different recommendations to parents of young children: Many international health organizations (e.g., the American Academy of Pediatrics, World Health Organization) recommend very young children be limited to under one hour of screen time daily, whereas others (e.g., Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) have intentionally opted not to make recommendations about specific limits. These guidelines might contribute to parents in different countries making meaningfully different choices about children's use of digital media. Using a sample of N = 303 families recruited in Cambridgeshire, England and New York City prior to the birth of couples' first child, we explore predictors of digital media use across the first two years of life. Data were collected when children were 4, 14, and 24 months of age. Results of latent growth curve analyses show that generally, children spend more time engaging with digital media as they grow older; however, growth mixture models reveal most children fit into one of two classes: One group of children (High Media Users; 52.2 %) engages with a substantial amount of digital media, whereas the other (Low Media Users; 48.8 %) engages with relatively little. Children in the US were approximately 30 % more likely to be in the Low Media Users group and there were no differences in group membership on the basis of parents' psychosocial wellbeing. While these differences could be due to a number of factors, these findings may reflect the power of pediatric recommendations.

Background media use is negatively related to language and literacy skills: indirect effects of self-regulation.

BACKGROUND: Media use is pervasive among young children. Over 95% of homes in the US have one or more televisions, and access to screen-based media continues to grow with the availability of new technologies. Broadly, exposure to large amounts of screen-based media is negatively related to language and literacy skills; however, questions remain as to the features of media that are detrimental to these skills and the mechanisms by which they are connected. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 922 children aged 3-7 years was recruited. Parents completed phone-based questionnaires of children's language, literacy, and self-regulation skills and a 24-h time diary in 2009. Path models were used to estimate the direct and indirect associations between context and content of media use with language and literacy skills. RESULTS: Background and entertainment television, but not educational television, were negatively associated with language and literacy. Further, the link between background television and language and literacy skills was fully mediated by self-regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Television left on in the background and entertainment programming (or that which is not child-directed) is particularly detrimental for language and literacy skills. Additional research is needed to further explore self-regulation as a mechanism by which screen use predicts academic skills. IMPACT: Background and entertainment television are negatively associated with language and literacy skills in 3- to 7-year-old children. We find no relation between educational programming and language and literacy skills. Self-regulation is a potential mechanism underlying the relation between background television and language and literacy skills. Anticipatory guidance for parents would be to consider turning off screen-based media devices when no one is watching. Parents should be mindful of the types of content their children are watching on screen-based media.

Screen Time and Executive Function in Toddlerhood: A Longitudinal Study.

Technology is pervasive in homes with young children. Emerging evidence that electronic screen-based media use has adverse effects on executive functions may help explain negative relations between media use and early academic skills. However, longitudinal investigations are needed to test this idea. In a sample of 193 British toddlers tracked from age 2 to 3 years, we test concurrent and predictive relations between screen use and children's executive function. We find no concurrent association between screen use and executive function; however, screen time at age 2 is negatively associated with the development of executive functions in toddlerhood from age 2 to 3, controlling for a range of covariates including verbal ability. Implications for parenting, education, and pediatric recommendations are discussed.

Infant screen exposure links to toddlers' inhibition, but not other EF constructs: A propensity score study.

Technology is pervasive in homes of families with young children, despite evidence for negative associations between infant exposure to screen-based media and cognitive development that has led the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to discourage parents from exposing children under the age of 18 months to any kind of screen time (AAP, 2016). Here, we apply a propensity score matching approach to estimate relations between electronic screen-based media use in infancy and executive function in early toddlerhood. In an international sample of 416 firstborn infants, parental report of regular exposure to screen-based media at 4 months predicted poorer performance on a test of inhibition at 14 months, but was unrelated to either cognitive flexibility or working memory at 14 months. Results of this study are therefore consistent with the view that early exposure to screen-based media adversely affects the development of executive function.

Mothers' distancing language relates to young children's math and literacy skills.

Parents' distancing language-language that requires cognitive abstraction and moves beyond the "here and now"-relates to children's literacy skills, but its association with mathematics remains unexamined. Participants were 242 mother-child dyads from African American, Chinese American, Dominican American, and Mexican American backgrounds. Mothers' distancing language was examined while mothers shared a wordless book with their 5-year-olds; children's math and literacy skills were assessed when children were 5.0 and 6.5 years of age. Mothers' distancing language, but not amount of language (word tokens), related to children's concurrent math and literacy skills. Mothers' distancing language predicted growth in children's literacy skills over time and related to later math indirectly through associations with early math. The importance of distancing language for cognitive growth may have implications for parenting and classroom practice.

Why won't she sleep? Screen exposure and sleep patterns in young infants.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants' exposure to electronic screen-based media be minimized; however, more research is needed to understand effects of viewing screen-based media. Here, we examine relations between media use and sleep. Data were collected from mothers when their infants (N = 429) were four months of age. Mothers answered questions about the time their infants spent watching electronic screen-based media. Exposure to electronic screen-based media was negatively associated with nighttime sleep (but not daytime sleep), such that an hour of screen time was associated with nearly 13 min less sleep on a typical night.

Executive Function Buffers the Association between Early Math and Later Academic Skills.

Extensive evidence has suggested that early academic skills are a robust indicator of later academic achievement; however, there is mixed evidence of the effectiveness of intervention on academic skills in early years to improve later outcomes. As such, it is clear there are other contributing factors to the development of academic skills. The present study tests the role of executive function (EF) (a construct made up of skills complicit in the achievement of goal-directed tasks) in predicting 5th grade math and reading ability above and beyond math and reading ability prior to school entry, and net of other cognitive covariates including processing speed, vocabulary, and IQ. Using a longitudinal dataset of N = 1292 participants representative of rural areas in two distinctive geographical parts of the United States, the present investigation finds EF at age 5 strongly predicts 5th grade academic skills, as do cognitive covariates. Additionally, investigation of an interaction between early math ability and EF reveals the magnitude of the association between early math and later math varies as a function of early EF, such that participants who have high levels of EF can "catch up" to peers who perform better on assessments of early math ability. These results suggest EF is pivotal to the development of academic skills throughout elementary school. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.