Validity of The Evaluation System of Children and Adolescents to Measure Executive Functions: Convergent Validity

Abstract

Executive functions (EFs) refer to a set of cognitive skills used to achieve goals and adapt to novelty and social situations. These cognitive skills strongly impact people’s daily lives. Hence, assessing these skills is important for an early intervention to address their lack if need be. Nevertheless, relevant scientific literature reports difficulties in assessing EFs, as they are a set of processes that involve many dimensions. Further, there are differences between everyday situations wherein EFs are employed and the context of a typical performance-based task, involving the use of EFs. Questionnaires are an excellent way to address these difficulties. The objective of this study is to test SENA’s convergent validity in terms of EFs’ assessment. The SENA is the first Spanish standardized questionnaire based on DSM-5 (2013), it assesses emotional and behavioral problems in children aged 3–18 years. This experiment involved students from regular schools ( N = 140; M age = 6.97 SD = 1.02). Statistical analysis was conducted that compared a validated EFs test (BRIEF-2) and the SENA test. The results of this study suggested the presence of convergent validity between SENA and BRIEF-2 vis-a-vis EFs. Thus, SENA is a valid assessment for EFs that are called for in school and family environments for those who speak Spanish. That said SENA is more comprehensive than BRIEF-2, as it not only assesses EFs but also identifies the problems currently associated with the failure in employing EFs, psychological vulnerabilities, and personal resources that are lacking. SENA provides a complete picture of children’s and adolescents' behaviors and emotions.