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Attention difficulty is associated with poor performance on executive functioning (EF) tasks, yet EF is enhanced in bilingual children. However, no research to date has investigated the possible interaction between bilingualism and attention ability in children to determine the consequences for EF when both are present. We assessed a sample of typically-developing children who were 8- to 11-years old for their ability in attention control and level of bilingualism on the basis of questionnaires completed by parents and teachers. Children performed three tasks requiring aspects of EF: stop signal task (inhibition), flanker task (interference control), and frogs matrices task (spatial working memory). Results from hierarchical regressions confirmed that both attention ability and bilingualism contributed to performance on the EF tasks. Where interaction effects were significant, they showed that attention ability was a stronger predictor for an inhibition task, namely stop signal, and bilingualism a stronger predictor for an interference task, namely flanker. Furthermore, these results allow us to discuss the relation between EF and attention ability.

Objective To examine the factor structure of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in a clinical sample of 1373 children and adolescents with ADHD and their 1772 unselected siblings recruited from different countries across a large age range. Hierarchical and correlated factor analytic models were compared separately in the ADHD and sibling samples, across three different instruments and across parent and teacher informants. Specific consideration was given to factorial invariance analyses across different ages and different countries in the ADHD sample. Method A sample of children and adolescents between 5 and 17 years of age with ADHD and their unselected siblings was assessed. Participants were recruited from seven European countries and Israel. ADHD symptom data came from a clinical interview with parents (PACS) and questionnaires from parents and teachers (Conners Parent and Teacher). Results A hierarchical general factor model with two specific factors best represented the structure of ADHD in both the ADHD and unselected sibling groups, and across informants and instruments. The model was robust and invariant with regard to age differences in the ADHD sample. The model was not strongly invariant across different national groups in the ADHD sample, likely reflecting severity differences across the different centers and not any substantial difference in the clinical presentation of ADHD. Conclusions The results replicate previous studies of a model with a unitary ADHD component and separable specific traits of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. The unique contribution of this study was finding support for this model across a large developmental and multinational/multicultural sample and its invariance across ages.

Previous research has shown that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on a variety of tasks that have been described as involving executive functioning, but the precise mechanism for those effects or a clear definition for "executive function" is unknown. This uncertainty has led to a number of studies for which no performance difference between monolingual and bilingual adults has been detected. One approach to clarifying these issues comes from research with children showing that bilinguals were more able than their monolingual peers to perceive both interpretations of an ambiguous figure, an ability that is more tied to a conception of selective attention than to specific components of executive function. The present study extends this notion to adults by assessing their ability to see the alternative image in an ambiguous figure. Bilinguals performed this task more efficiently than monolinguals by requiring fewer cues to identify the second image. This finding has implications for the role of selective attention in performance differences between monolinguals and bilinguals.

The Risk–Need–Responsivity (RNR) framework for working with offenders has been well validated. Factors that contribute to reoffending within adult and youth forensic populations have been identified, including antisocial attitudes, but less is known about the measurement of this construct in youth. Thus, in the present study, the reliability and validity of criminal attitudes measures were examined in a sample of justice-involved male youth (N = 291). Two measures widely used with adult offenders were included in the present study: the Pride in Delinquency Scale (PID) and the Criminal Sentiments Scale–Modified (CSS-M). Both measures were found to be reliable and valid, and of importance, useful in the prediction of reoffending behavior (area under the curve = .70 and .69 respectively). These findings further support the use of the RNR framework in general with youthful offenders, and more specifically, the use of criminal attitudes measures with youth.