TY - JOUR A1 - Groppe, Karoline A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - Executive function and weight status in children BT - a one-year longitudinal perspective JF - Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence N2 - There is considerable evidence for an association between obesity and impaired executive function (EF) in adolescents and adults. However, little research has examined EF in overweight or obese children. Furthermore, data on EF in underweight individuals is lacking. In addition, there is no consensus on the directionality of the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and EF, and longitudinal studies are rare. Thus, the present study examined whether children differ in their performance on a battery of EF tasks depending on their weight status (underweight, normal-weight, overweight), and investigated the longitudinal cross-lagged associations between EF and BMI. Hot EF (delay of gratification, affective decision-making), cool EF (attention shifting, inhibition, working memory [WM] updating), and BMI were assessed in 1,657 German elementary-school children at two time points, approximately one year apart. Overweight children exhibited slightly poorer attention shifting, WM updating, and affective decision-making abilities as compared to normal-weight children. Unexpectedly, they did not show any deficits in inhibition or delay of gratification. EF levels of underweight children did not differ significantly from those of normal-weight children. Furthermore, poor attention shifting and enhanced affective decision-making predicted a slightly higher BMI one year later, and a higher BMI also predicted poorer attention shifting and WM updating one year later. The latter association between BMI and subsequent EF scores, however, diminished when controlling for socioeconomic status. Results indicate that hot and cool EF plays a role in the weight development of children, and might be a promising factor to address in preventive interventions. KW - Hot and cool executive function KW - Overweight KW - Underweight KW - Middle childhood KW - Longitudinal Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2015.1089981 SN - 0929-7049 SN - 1744-4136 VL - 23 IS - 2 SP - 129 EP - 147 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lensing, Johanna Nele A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - Development of hot and cool executive functions in middle childhood BT - Three-year growth curves of decision making and working memory updating JF - Journal of experimental child psychology N2 - Although middle childhood is an important period for the development of hot and cool executive functions (EFs), longitudinal studies investigating trajectories of childhood EF development are still limited and little is known about predictors for individual developmental trajectories. The current study examined the development of two typical facets of cool and hot EFs over a 3-year period during middle childhood, comparing a younger cohort (6- and 7-year-olds at the first wave [T1]; n = 621) and an older cohort (8- and 9-year olds at T1; n = 975) of children. "Cool" working memory updating (WM) was assessed using a backward digit span task, and "hot" decision making (DM) was assessed using a child variant of the Iowa Gambling Task. Linear latent growth curve analyses revealed evidence for developmental growth as well as interindividual variance in the initial level and rate of change in both EF facets. Initial level of WM was positively associated with age (both between and within cohorts), socioeconomic status, verbal ability, and processing speed, whereas initial levels of DM were, in addition to a (potentially age-related) cohort effect, exclusively predicted by gender, with boys outperforming girls. None of the variables predicted the rate of change, that is, the developmental trajectories. However, younger children, as compared with older children, had slightly steeper WM growth curves over time, hinting at a leveling off in the development of WM during middle childhood. In sum, these data add important evidence to the understanding of hot and cool EF development during middle childhood. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Cognitive development KW - Middle childhood KW - Hot and cool executive functioning KW - Working memory updating KW - Decision making KW - Growth curve models Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2018.04.002 SN - 0022-0965 SN - 1096-0457 VL - 173 SP - 187 EP - 204 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rohlf, Helena, L. A1 - Krahé, Barbara A1 - Busching, Robert T1 - The socializing effect of classroom aggression on the development of aggression and social rejection: A two-wave multilevel analysis JF - Journal of school psychology KW - Physical aggression KW - Relational aggression KW - Social rejection KW - Middle childhood KW - Classroom-level effects Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2016.05.002 SN - 0022-4405 SN - 1873-3506 VL - 58 SP - 57 EP - 72 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Groppe, Karoline A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - The influence of hot and cool executive function on the development of eating styles related to overweight in children JF - Appetite : multidisciplinary research on eating and drinking N2 - Studies linking executive function (EF) and overweight suggest that a broad range of executive functions might influence weight via obesity-related behaviors, such as particular eating styles. Currently, however, longitudinal studies investigating this assumption in children are rare. We hypothesized that lower hot and cool EF predicts a stronger increase in eating styles related to greater weight gain (food approach) and a weaker increase in eating styles related to less weight gain (food avoidance) over a 1-year period. Hot (delay of gratification, affective decision-making) and cool (attention shifting, inhibition, working memory updating) EF was assessed experimentally in a sample of 1657 elementary-school children (German school classes 1-3) at two time points, approximately one year apart. The children's food-approach and food-avoidance behavior was rated mainly via parent questionnaires at both time points. As expected, lower levels of hot and cool EF predicted a stronger increase in several food-approach eating styles across a 1-year period, mainly in girls. Unexpectedly, poorer performance on the affective decision-making task also predicted an increase in certain food-avoidance styles, namely, slowness in eating and satiety responsiveness, in girls. Results implicate that lower EF is not only seen in eating-disordered or obese individuals but also acts as a risk factor for an increase in particular eating styles that play a role in the development of weight problems in children. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Hot/cool executive function KW - Development of eating behavior KW - Food approach KW - Food avoidance KW - Overweight KW - Middle childhood Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.203 SN - 0195-6663 SN - 1095-8304 VL - 87 SP - 127 EP - 136 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER -