Research regarding executive functioning (EF) in children rarely focuses on populations in African or Middle-Eastern Arabic-speaking countries. The current study used a cross-sectional design to examine the developmental trajectories of school-age Tunisian children in three domains of executive control (inhibition of prepotent responses, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) as well as their mutual interactions and the effects of gender and parents’ education level. Inhibitory processes, cognitive flexibility, and working memory were assessed using the Stroop test, a version of the Hayling test adapted for children, simple and alternating tasks of verbal fluency, and verbal and visuospatial span tasks (forward and backward spans). The study population included 120 7- to 12-year-old Tunisian children (60 girls, 60 boys) who were grouped and matched for age, gender, and parents’ education level. The results revealed an overall effect of age on executive performance, whereas gender and parents’ education level showed non-significant effects. In addition, executive indices were significantly associated with fluid intelligence level. Partial correlation analyses (controlled for age) found significant links between indices that assessed the same executive process, except for inhibitory processes; the temporal indices for inhibitory processes showed relative independence. The correlations between indices that assessed distinct executive processes were weaker (but significant). Overall, the results suggest that executive components in school-age Tunisian children operate according to relatively homogeneous developmental trajectories, marked by peaks of maturity that differ according to the assessed index. A transcultural approach to EF is discussed in terms of the unity and diversity of its components.

Background: To examine the impact of executive function disorders on health-related quality of life (QoL) in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), we conducted a prospective single-center study among 40 children with NF1 aged 8–12 years (mean = 9.7,SD = 1.4) and their parents, comparing them with 56 healthy control children matched for age, sex, parental education level, and handedness. We collected children’s self-reports and parents’ proxy reports of QoL with the Kidscreen-52 questionnaire, and measured executive functions by combining seven performance-based tests and a daily life questionnaire completed by parents and teachers.Results: Several QoL domains were significantly impaired in the children with NF1, compared with healthy controls, mainly according to their parents’ reports (3 out of 9 scales; Cohen’sd: 0.57–0.76), with particularly low scores in the social support and peers and school environment domains. Executive function difficulties (Cohen’sd: 0.64–1.72) significantly predicted the impairment of QoL domains as perceived by the children or their parents, regardless of the indirect indicators of learning disabilities.Conclusions: Both performance-based executive function scores and behavioral ratings of executive functions in daily life by parents and teachers were associated with low QoL levels in the children with NF1. The school environment and social integration appear to be particularly affected and should therefore be targeted in the management of the disease.

Introduction. Ecological assessment of executive functions (EF) with tasks simulating everyday-life difficulties in children remains poorly developed. The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome for Children (BADS-C) is one of the rare tools proposed in this perspective, for which developmental and convergent validity are, however, rather limited. The objectives of this study were to explore EF development using the BADS-C, while considering the effect of gender and parental education as well as controversial relationships between intelligence and EF. We also aimed to examine to what extent the BADS-C could reflect EF of children in everyday life, as reported by their parents on questionnaires. Method. A group of 120 healthy children aged from 7 to 12 years was recruited. Their executive performance was examined by means of the BADS-C, and their intellectual efficiency was tested with the Wechsler intelligence scales. Rating of EF in everyday life was simultaneously carried out by children’s parents, using two questionnaires: the Dysexecutive Questionnaire for Children (DEX-C) of the BADS-C and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Results. Results showed a significant effect of age on BADS-C subtests, with inconsistencies from one subtest to another. Gender effect on EF performance was nonsignificant. Weak correlations were found between EF scores and parental education or intelligence quotient. Lastly, while the two questionnaires of everyday-life EF were strongly correlated with each other, their links with BADS-C subtests scores were weak. Conclusions. This study shows differentiated developmental curves on BADS-C, reflecting a variable implication of executive resources according to subtests. The limited relations between BADS-C performance and sociodemographic variables or IQ could be due to the fact that executive difficulties are moderate in healthy children at this age. Moreover, the capacity of the BADS-C to reflect EF as perceived by the child’s relatives in everyday life remains questionable.

English abstract on Cairn International Edition