Examining the Role of Language in Inhibitory Control Development Within the Context of Early Poverty
Date of Award
6-29-2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Inhibitory control (IC) is a component of executive function that has been shown to be important for tasks which require self-regulation such as future-planning, decision-making, and prosocial interpersonal interactions. Some Vygotskian researchers have proposed that language ability in early life allows for improved IC and subsequent self-regulation via the internalization of rule systems. While some studies have demonstrated evidence for this internalization, no studies to date have examined impacts of language on inhibitory control performance amongst individuals from financially under resourced backgrounds. The current study aimed to determine whether and/or how childhood financial deprivation altered performance on IC tasks across time, and whether language ability explained the relation between childhood socioeconomic status and subsequent IC performance. The sample consisted of 11,876 participants from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Multilevel models were computed to estimate intercepts and slopes of language and IC outcomes across timepoints. Results revealed that increased financial deprivation at baseline predicted reduced performance on a language task and less improvement on language tasks across time. Increased financial deprivation was associated with similarly lower performance on IC tasks and less improvement across time. Further, lower performance on language tasks predicted worse performance on IC tasks and less improvement across time. Follow-up mediation analyses revealed evidence for a partial mediation of language, where the relationship between baseline SES and subsequent IC performance was partially explained by intermediary performance on a language task. The findings of this study provide increased evidence to support Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Development and highlight the importance of early language intervention particularly in environments which are financially under-resourced.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Deanna Barch
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Rita Lynn, "Examining the Role of Language in Inhibitory Control Development Within the Context of Early Poverty" (2024). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3065.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/3065