Although basic numerical skills have been widely studied in the last years, very few studies have undertaken a developmental approach. The present study evaluated the development of the magnitude comparison basic numerical ability, in children from first, third and sixth grades by means of the subject's response time in numerical tasks presented in symbolic and non-symbolic formats. The results showed a significant decrease on quantities processing speed as age increases, which suggests numerical skills tend to become automatic with instruction. The differences found, concerning the general achievement pattern in each school year, might express the maturational specificities of the numerical representation system through development.

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Introduction: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R) was developed to provide an efficient screening scale for depression syndrome, mimicking the original CESD, one of the most widely used screening tools to measure depressive symptoms globally. This investigation examined the factor structure of the CESD-R with a non-clinical Brazilian population. Method: We performed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of two adult samples, and also conducted invariance analysis by sex and place of residence of the participants. The full sample consisted of 1,427 adults, divided into two groups. The first sample (n = 400) was used for the EFA and the second sample (n = 1027) for the CFA. Results: The EFA indicated an internal structure composed of a single factor, which explained 53.2% of the variance. The CFA attested to the unidimensionality of the measure. Fit indices and reliability indicators showed values higher than expected, without modifications in the initial structure. The model was invariant in relation to the variables investigated at four different levels (configural, metric, scalar, and strict). Conclusions: Our findings support the utility of the CESD-R and suggest its validity for application to the Brazilian population in general.

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Nowadays, there is still debate about the origin of arithmetic disabilities. Two predominant hypotheses have been developed in this regard: 1) difficulties in arithmetic appear due to a deficit in domain-specific skills (numerical skills) and 2) there is a strong relationship between the development of the domain-general processes and arithmetical skills. In this study we explore the specific contribution of orienting and executive control attentional networks to individual variability in basic mental arithmetic. Participants were elementary school children, from second to third grade, with and without difficulties in basic mental arithmetic. Results provide support for the two proposed hypotheses. Children with difficulties in arithmetic showed difficulties both in numerical skills and in attentional networks. These findings suggest that arithmetic difficulties may be associated with a heterogeneous combination of deficits, including difficulties in attentional functioning. Contribución de las redes atencionales al rendimiento en aritmética básica en niños de edad escolar R E S U M E NEn la actualidad existe aún debate sobre el origen de las dificultades en aritmética. Se han desarrollado dos hipótesis predominantes al respecto: 1) las dificultades en aritmética aparecen por un déficit en las capacidades de dominio específico (capacidades numéricas) y 2) hay una estrecha relación entre el desarrollo de los procesos de dominio general y las habilidades aritméticas. En este estudio se explora la contribución específica de las redes de atención ejecutiva y orientación atencional a la explicación de la varianza en aritmética básica. Participaron niños de segundo y tercer grado de primaria, con y sin dificultades en aritmética básica. Nuestros resultados ofrecen sustento a las dos hipótesis propuestas, ya que los niños con dificultades en aritmética mostraron dificultades tanto en las capacidades numéricas como en las redes atencionales. Estos hallazgos sugieren que las dificultades en aritmética pudieran estar asociadas a una combinación heterogénea de déficits, incluyendo dificultades en el funcionamiento atencional. Palabras clave: Atención ejecutiva Alternancia atencional Dificultades en el aprendizaje Capacidades numéricas ARTICLE IN PRESS 2 D. Castro Cañizares et al. / Psicología Educativa (2021) xx(x) xx-xx