Abstract
Background: There is much research examining adolescents' executive function (EF) but there is little information about tools that measure EF, in particular preference of use, their reliability and validity. This information is important as to help both researchers and practitioners select the most relevant and reliable measure of EF to use with adolescents in their context.Aims: We conducted a scoping review to: (a) identify the measures of EF that have been used in studies conducted among adolescents in the past 15 years; (b) identify the most frequently used measures of EF; and (c) establish the psychometric robustness of existing EF measures used with adolescents.Methods: We searched three bibliographic databases (PsycINFO, Ovid Medline, and Web of Science) using key terms “Adolescents,” “Executive Functions,” and “measures”. The search covered research articles published between 1st January 2002 and 31st July 2017.Results: We identified a total of 338 individual measures of EF from 705 eligible studies. The vast majority of these studies (95%) were conducted in high income countries. Of the identified measures, 10 were the most used frequently, with a cumulative percent frequency accounting for nearly half (44%) the frequency of usage of all reported measures of EF. These are: Digit Span (count = 160), Trail Making Test (count = 158), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (count = 148), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (count = 140), Verbal Fluency Tasks (count = 88), Stroop Color-Word Test (count = 78), Classical Stroop Task (count = 63), Color-Word Interference Test from Delis-Kaplan battery (count = 62), Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (count = 62), and Original Continuous Performance Test (count = 58). In terms of paradigms, tasks from Span (count = 235), Stroop (count = 216), Trails (count = 171), Card sorting (count = 166), Continuous performance (count = 99), and Tower (count = 94) paradigms were frequently used. Only 48 studies out of the included 705 reported the reliability and/or validity of measures of EF used with adolescents, but limited to studies in high income countries.Conclusion: We conclude that there is a wide array of measures for assessing EF among adolescents. Ten of these measures are frequently used. However, the evidence of psychometric robustness of measures of EF used with adolescents remains limited to support the validity of their usage across different contexts.
Highlights
General BackgroundExecutive function (EF), known as executive control or cognitive control, is an umbrella term that describes a set of interrelated but distinct cognitive abilities
To describe the most preferred or frequently used measure of executive function (EF), we developed a priori working definition, that is, a measure of EF should have accounted for ≥2.5% of the summed frequency of usage of all individual measures of EF
We identified a total of 338 individual measures that have been used to assess an aspect of EF among adolescents aged 13–17 years
Summary
Executive function (EF), known as executive control or cognitive control, is an umbrella term that describes a set of interrelated but distinct cognitive abilities These cognitive abilities, mediated by the prefrontal cortex (Siddiqui et al, 2008) include, but are not limited to: planning, shifting (i.e., flexibility of thought and action), fluency (i.e., generation of new responses), problem solving, decision making, self-regulation, attentional control, working memory (i.e., concurrent remembering and processing), inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility (Miyake and Friedman, 2012; Burnett et al, 2013; Costanzo et al, 2013). This information is important as to help both researchers and practitioners select the most relevant and reliable measure of EF to use with adolescents in their context
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
