Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists May 2015 | Page 10

Executive Function
Pediatrics published research on 228 adolescents
who were extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks) birth
and extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g).
Each participant was assessed with multiple
executive function (EF) tasks, and parent- and selfratings of behavioral EF. The Rey Complex Figure
and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function
parent report were also administered at age 8 years,
to determine if there was a change in scores between
childhood and adolescence.
The results indicated the following:
1. EP/ELBW adolescents performed more poorly than controls in the following areas – verbal
processing speed, attentional control, cognitive flexibility, and goal-setting but not psychomotor
reaction time.
2. group differences were similar across tasks.
3. during childhood to late adolescence, EP/ELBW children improved their accuracy of the Rey
Complex Figure copy more than controls.
4. parent report indicated that executive behaviors were largely stable over time in both groups.
The researchers concluded that adolescents born EP/ELBW have poorer EF skills across
multiple domains than controls and recommend multidomain, longitudinal assessments in this
high-risk population.
Reference: Executive Function in Adolescents Born <1000 g or <28 Weeks: A Prospective
Cohort Study. Alice C. Burnett, Shannon E. Scratch, Katherine J. Lee, Jeanie Cheong, Karissa
Searle, Esther Hutchinson, Cinzia De Luca, Mary-Ann Davey, Gehan Roberts, Lex W. Doyle,
and Peter J. Anderson , on behalf of the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group
Pediatrics 2015; 135:4 e826-e834; published ahead of print March 23, 2015,
doi:10.1542/peds.2014-3188

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