The Effects of Stress on Executive Function Performance in Children

Executive function (EF) is an umbrella term for a collection of important cognitive skills, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. These skills are important for both short-term and long-term outcomes such as peer relations, mental and physical health, and academic achievement. Numerous factors influence performance on each of these skills, one of which is experiencing stress. However, how different stressors impact EF across the life span, and how stress-induced impacts on EF are related to other outcomes, is not fully understood. For example, while there is a large body of literature examining the effects of acute stress on adult EF, the literature on this relation in childhood is sparse. The aim of the following studies was to examine how different stressors impact EF and how this process relates to other outcomes, such as academic achievement and mental health. First, longitudinal analyses of the mediating role of executive function in middle childhood (age 7-11) in the relation between early-life family income (age 0-5) and academic achievement in late adolescence (16-18) were examined. These analyses indicated that executive function serves as a mediator in this relation. Second, the effects of an acute experimental stressor on EF performance in 9-11-year-old children were examined, as well as the potential moderating roles of child characteristics such as physiological reactivity and emotional and behavioral problems. There was no overall effect of stress on EF performance but there was a moderating effect of parasympathetic nervous system reactivity in the relation between stress condition and inhibitory control performance. Lastly, the association between COVID-19-related economic stress and both EF and mental health in 9-17-year-old children and their parents was examined. There were no effects of either parental job loss or family financial stress on EF, but family financial stress did predict worse mental health in parents. These findings highlight the complex interplay between stress, EF, and other related outcomes such as mental health