Longitudinal development of executive function from infancy to late childhood

Abstract

Executive function (EF) is difficult to measure in young children because of its heterotypic profile and the rapid development that occurs from infancy through late childhood. To examine EF development, we created age-specific latent factors of EF at ages 5 months, 10 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, and 9 years and used structural equation modeling to create an autoregressive model from infancy through late childhood. Although EF remains difficult to measure due to task constraints, toddler EF as measured by these behavioral tasks is a relatively stable predictor of later EF. Understanding this construct and its developmental trajectory is necessary for creating appropriate experimental designs and interventions to address EF in early childhood.