TY - JOUR A1 - Meixner, Johannes M. A1 - Warner, Greta J. A1 - Lensing, Johanna Nele A1 - Schiefele, Ulrich A1 - Elsner, Birgit T1 - The relation between executive functions and reading comprehension in primary-school students BT - a cross-lagged-panel analysis JF - Early Childhood Research Quarterly N2 - Higher-order cognitive skills are necessary prerequisites for reading and understanding words, sentences and texts. In particular, research on executive functions in the cognitive domain has shown that good executive functioning in children is positively related to reading comprehension skills and that deficits in executive functioning are related to difficulties with reading comprehension. However, developmental research on literacy and self-regulation in the early school years suggests that the relation between higher-order cognitive skills and reading might not be unidirectional, but mutually interdependent in nature. Therefore, the present longitudinal study explored the bidirectional relations between executive functions and reading comprehension during primary school across a 1-year period. At two time points (T1, T2), we assessed reading comprehension at the word, sentence, and text levels as well as three components of executive functioning, that is, updating, inhibition, and attention shifting. The sample consisted of three sequential cohorts of German primary school students (N = 1657) starting in first, second, and third grade respectively (aged 6-11 years at T1). Using a latent cross-lagged-panel design, we found bidirectional longitudinal relations between executive functions and reading comprehension for second and third graders. However, for first graders, only the path from executive functioning at T1 to reading comprehension at T2 attained significance. Succeeding analyses revealed updating as the crucial component of the effect from executive functioning on later reading comprehension, whereas text reading comprehension was most predictive of later executive functioning. The potential processes underlying the observed bidirectional relations are discussed with respect to developmental changes in reading comprehension across the primary years. KW - Reading Comprehension KW - Executive Functions KW - Longitudinal Study KW - Latent Variable Analysis KW - Cross-Lagged-Panel Design KW - Bidirectional Relations Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.04.010 SN - 0885-2006 SN - 1873-7706 VL - 46 SP - 62 EP - 74 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Blomeyer, Dorothea A1 - Buchmann, Arlette F. A1 - Schmid, Brigitte A1 - Jennen-Steinmetz, Christine A1 - Schmidt, Martin H. A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Laucht, Manfred T1 - Age at first drink moderates the impact of current stressful life events on drinking behavior in young adults JF - Alcoholism : clinical and experimental research ; the official journal of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism and the Research Society on Alcoholism N2 - Background: Recent evidence from animal experiments and studies in humans suggests that early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to higher stress-induced drinking. The present study aimed to extend these findings by examining whether AFD interacted with stressful life events (SLE) and/or with daily hassles regarding the impact on drinking patterns among young adults. Method: In 306 participants of an epidemiological cohort study, AFD was assessed together with SLE during the past 3 years, daily hassles in the last month, and drinking behavior at age 22. As outcome variables, 2 variables were derived, reflecting different aspects of alcohol use: the amount of alcohol consumed in the last month and the drinking frequency, indicated by the number of drinking days in the last month. Results: Linear regression models revealed an interaction effect between the continuous measures of AFD and SLE on the amount of alcohol consumed. The earlier young adults had their first alcoholic drink and the higher the levels of SLE they were exposed to, the disproportionately more alcohol they consumed. Drinking frequency was not affected by an interaction of these variables, while daily hassles and their interaction with AFD were unrelated to drinking behavior. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of early age at drinking onset as a risk factor for later heavy drinking under high load of SLE. Prevention programs should aim to raise age at first contact with alcohol. Additionally, support in stressful life situations and the acquisition of effective coping strategies might prevent heavy drinking in those with earlier drinking onset. KW - Age at First Drink KW - Drinking Behavior KW - Longitudinal Study KW - Stressful Life Events KW - Daily Hassles Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01447.x SN - 0145-6008 VL - 35 IS - 6 SP - 1142 EP - 1148 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER -