Developing minds: a sociodemographic perspective on executive functions development in preschool children

The current study focused on sociodemographic factors (i.e., parents’ education, objective household income, subjective household income, school type) in relation to Executive Functions (EF). Given the associations of preschooler EF on developmental outcomes from childhood through adulthood, Socio economic Status (SES: both parents’ education and objective household income) relations to EF warrant investigation. The sample included 215 Turkish mothers (26–47 years old) and their 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers (47.4% boys; 52.6% girls). Mothers completed a demographics form, and children were tested on the three cool components of EF (cognitive flexibility, conflict inhibition, working memory). Results indicated that SES predicted preschoolers’ cognitive flexibility and conflict inhibition. In contrast, subjective income and school type were not related to any of the EF components. The main conclusion is that broadening measures of SES will help isolate relations that are relevant for preschool EF development.