This cross-sectional study examined the development of set-shifting ability from childhood into early adulthood. Six hundred and forty-nine participants (aged 8-30) were assessed on the verbal fluency, design fluency, trail making, color-word interference, and card sorting subtests of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). Multiple regression analyses revealed modest effects of age and gender on set-shifting tasks, after controlling for IQ and component skills. The current study provides evidence for generally increased performance of set-shifting abilities through adolescence. Women overall had statistically better performance than men on all executive functioning tasks. There were significant age by gender interactions suggesting differential age-related improvements between men and women. On color-word interference and verbal fluency switching tasks, men tended to show larger improvements than women, whereas on a design fluency switching task, women showed larger improvements than men.

Many students have difficulty adjusting to college, and the contribution of academic and relational factors have been considered in previous research. In particular, depression commonly emerges among college women at this time and could be related to poor adjustment to college. This study examined the relationship between executive functions, depressive symptoms, and college adjustment in college women. Seventy-seven female participants from a midsize urban university completed the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, College Adjustment Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version, and four subtests from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System: the Trail-Making Test, Design Fluency Test, Verbal Fluency Test, and Color-Word Interference Test. After controlling for IQ score, hierarchical regression analyses showed that subjective and objective measures of executive functioning and depressive symptoms were significantly related to college adjustment problems in academic, relational, and psychological areas. The current study provides evidence for a relationship between cognitive abilities, psychiatric symptoms, and college adjustment.

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