Parsing Heterogeneity of Executive Function in Typically and Atypically Developing Children: A Conceptual Replication and Exploration of Social Function.

Executive function (EF), the set of cognitive processes that govern goal-directed behavior, varies within developmental samples and clinical populations. Here, we perform a conceptual replication of prior work (Dajani et al. in Sci Rep 6:36566, 2016) in an independent sample of typically developing...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 50; no. 3; pp. 707 - 719
Main Authors: Baez, Adriana C., Dajani, Dina R., Voorhies, Willa, Parladé, Meaghan V., Alessandri, Michael, Britton, Jennifer C., Llabre, Maria M., Uddin, Lucina Q.
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Springer Nature Mar2020
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Executive function (EF), the set of cognitive processes that govern goal-directed behavior, varies within developmental samples and clinical populations. Here, we perform a conceptual replication of prior work (Dajani et al. in Sci Rep 6:36566, 2016) in an independent sample of typically developing children (n = 183) and children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 104). Consistent with previous work, the latent profile analysis of parent-report EF measures provided evidence for three EF classes, which exhibited differential proportions of diagnostic groups. Additionally, children in the impaired EF group exhibited greater levels of social impairment. These results highlight the heterogeneity of EF ability among clinical and non-clinical populations and the link between EF and social abilities.