Children's neurocognitive performance : relationships with culture, media use, age, and emotion recognition
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Neurocognitive functions, such as attention/executive functions, language, memory/learning, sensorimotor functions, social perception, and visuospatial processing, gradually develop as a child grows. This happens following brain maturation, but also in close relationships with the environment and background of the child. The aim of the present thesis was to explore the relationship among background and environmental variables and neurocognitive performance in typically developing children. The present thesis consists of three empirical studies exploring the relationships among background, environmental, and neurocognitive variables. Study I compared the cross-sectional development of neurocognitive functions among 2,745 children from Finland, Italy, and the United States, aged 3–15, thus investigating the relationship between cultures and neurocognition. Study II investigated the relationship between media use—that is, time spent watching television (TV), using the computer, or reading—and neurocognitive functions in 381 children, aged 5–12 years, from the United States. Study III investigated more closely one neurocognitive function—the ability to recognize emotional expressions—in 370 3–6-year-old Finnish children. The developmental sequence of the function, as well as its relationship with other neurocognitive functions, was explored. In all three studies, standardization data from the comprehensive and international child neuropsychological assessment, NEPSY-II, was used. Neurocognitive performance proved to be related to all the assessed variables in all three studies. Cultural differences emerged for most neurocognitive functions, especially in younger children, with somewhat different developmental pathways in the three countries. Media use was also significantly related to neurocognitive performance. TV watching was negatively related to neurocognition, while computer use was positively related to some neurocognitive functions. Reading was positively related to some functions in younger children and when maternal education was lower. The emotion recognition ability showed a specific developmental pattern in preschool-aged children and proved to be related to other neurocognitive functions, especially language. In all, the findings of the present thesis suggest that neurocognitive functions develop in close relation with the environment and background of the child. Cultural and media use habit differences, in addition to age and parental education level, may explain some of the variation in neurocognitive performance appearing during pediatric clinical assessments. Further, deficits in neurocognitive functions may partly explain deficits in other functions, for example, emotion recognition ability. The present findings have implications for families and assessments of children. One specific implication involves guidelines for assessing English- and Swedish-speaking children in Finland. In all, the thesis adds new information to the neuropsychology research fields of cultural, media, and social function studies.
Source: Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Author: Johanna Rosenqvist
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2768205579