A growing body of research indicates that physical activity (PA) positively impacts cognitive function in youth. However, not all forms of PA benefit cognition equally. The purpose of this review was to determine the effect of different types of chronic PA interventions on cognition in children and adolescents. A systematic search of electronic databases and examination of the reference lists of relevant studies resulted in the identification of 28 studies. Seven categories of PA were identified, based on all possible combinations of three types of PA (aerobic, motor skill, cognitively engaging), and four comparison groups (no treatment, academic, traditional physical education (PE), aerobic). Effect sizes were calculated based on means and SDs at the post-test using Hedge’s g formula, which includes a correction for small sample bias. Each study was only entered once in each intervention-comparator category. Full data were provided from 21 studies (28 effect sizes; n = 2042 intervention; n = 2002 comparison group). Overall, chronic PA interventions had a significant small-to-moderate effect on cognition (0.46). Moderate significant positive effects were identified when PA interventions were compared to no treatment (0.86) or academic content (0.57). A non-significant effect was noted when PA interventions were compared to traditional PE (0.09) or aerobic group (0.80). However, high heterogeneity in pooled effect sizes suggests that important differences in the qualitative characteristics of the PA intervention and comparison interventions may exist. Effect sizes based on comparisons between different types of PA interventions and comparison groups are discussed in order to identify possible directions for future investigations. We conclude that chronic PA interventions have a positive impact on cognitive function in youth, but more systematic research is needed in this area.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the English and Spanish versions of the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-symptom and Normal-behavior (SWAN) rating scale. Method: Parents of preschoolers completed both a SWAN and the well-established Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) on two separate occasions over a span of 3 months; instruments were in the primary language of the family (English or Spanish). Results: Psychometric properties for the English and Spanish versions of the SWAN were adequate, with high internal consistency and moderate test–retest reliability. Skewness and kurtosis statistics for the SWAN were within the range expected for a normally distributed population. The SWAN also demonstrated adequate convergent and discriminant validity in correlations with the various subscales of the SDQ. Conclusion: Psychometric properties of both the English and Spanish versions of the SWAN indicate that it is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring child attention and hyperactivity. The stability of ratings over time in this preschool sample was moderate, which may reflect the relative instability of these characteristics in preschool children.