The interrelationships between behavioural inattention, working memory and academic outcome in a community sample of elementary school-aged children
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: A body of empirical studies has found that inattentive behaviour in the classroom is linked to low academic functioning. The literature suggests that poor working memory (WM), as well as behavioural inattention and academic underachievement, comprise a developmental risk triad. The nature of this relationship triad is not yet understood. There were two overall objectives of this dissertation research: one was to examine the strength of the evidence for a relationship between behavioural inattention and academic underachievement. The second was to investigate the role WM plays in relation to inattention and academic outcomes. Firstly, a systematic review was conducted to evaluate the evidence and strength of association of the relationship between inattention and lower standardized test scores and classroom performance. Large heterogeneity in the results of individual studies pointed to differences based on covariates, outcome measures and ages of participants. Overall, there was a consistent evidence-based link between inattention and lower academic achievement. The heterogeneity in results raised questions about other factors that play a role in the relationship between inattention and academic achievement. The second objective was addressed through two sets of analyses using contemporaneous and longitudinal data from a community sample of school children. Mediation analysis was used to assess whether WM is a mediator of the relationship between inattention and poor achievement. The first analysis demonstrated that the contemporaneous nature of the connections among inattention, WM and academic outcomes was such that inattention had both a direct relationship and an indirect relationship to math and reading fluency through auditory-verbal WM. The second set of analyses examined this same relationship across time. Results indicated that across time, auditory-verbal WM continues to be important for reading fluency, but visual-spatial WM becomes more important when predicting math outcomes for boys. This pattern was the same when classroom performance was used as an outcome measure. Results provide insight into the nature of the relationship between inattention, WM and poor achievement in the general elementary classroom population.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Sarah A. O. Gray
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2622683608