Children and adolescents are not indifferent to the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to be forced to live in confinement. The change in life to which they have been abruptly subjected forces us to understand the state of their mental health in order to adequately address both their present and future needs. The present study was carried out with the intention of studying the consequences of confinement on anxiety, sleep routines and executive functioning of 1,028 children and adolescents, aged from 6 to 18 years, residing in Spain to; assess if there are differences regarding these consequences in terms of sex and age; how anxiety affects executive functioning in males and females; and to examine the possible correlations between the measured variables. For this purpose, an online questionnaire containing five sections was designed: the first section gathers information on sociodemographic and health data, while the following sections gather information from different standardized scales which measure anxiety, sleep and executive functions, whose items were adapted in order to be completed by parents, and/or legal guardians. The statistical analyzes carried out highlights significant differences in executive functioning between males and females. In turn, in regards to age, greater difficulties were detected in anxiety in the 9 to 12 age group and greater sleep disturbances between 13 and 18 year olds. On the other hand, significant differences were found in intra-sexual executive functioning depending on whether they presented greater or lesser anxiety, with executive functioning being more tendentiously maladjusted in males than in females, revealing a significantly relevant effect size (p = 0.001; ω2 = 0.27 BRIEF-2; ω2 = 0.19 BDEFS-CA; 95%). Positive correlations are obtained between state anxiety and sleep and executive functioning alterations. Finally, through Path Analysis, it is verified that state anxiety is the variable with the greatest weight within the model that would explain the alteration in the executive functioning of the present sample.

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationships between simple and complex reaction times (RTs) with the physical activity performed weekly, the physical fitness and selective attention in children of the third cycle of primary education. Participants were 119 children aged between 10 and 12 years (M = 10.71; SD = 0.77). The instruments used for data collection were the D2 attention test to analyze selective attention, various tests of the Eurofit and ALPHA-Fitness Battery to evaluate the physical condition, a bioimpedanciometer Tanita TBF 300 to evaluate the body composition, and the FITLIGHT Trainer to measure the simple and complex RTs. The group that carried out more weekly physical activity used less time in simple (p < 0.05, d = −0.68, 95% CI [−1.19, −0.17]) and complex RT tests (p < 0.05, d = −0.63, 95% CI [−1.14, −0.12]). Also, the results showed that the simple RT was related in a significant way with physical fitness, while the complex RT was related significantly to attentional capacity and physical fitness.

The evidence for the benefits of physical activity on cognitive functioning has increased in recent years. Although the relationship between these variables has been analyzed for decades, the development of evaluation techniques has resolved several issues and advanced this area of knowledge. Moreover, several authors have pointed out the association between the cognitive functioning of athletes and their performance in competition. These recent studies suggest that some specific cognitive abilities of athletes could help them become more effective and improve their chances of success. The objective of this paper was to identify the most relevant advances in these areas of study and to highlight more promising lines of research for the next few years. We have discussed findings from the application of different physical activity programs as well as the most significant cognitive performance variables for sports practice. The limitations of the findings were also discussed.

The outbreak and the quick expansion of SARS-CoV-2, from December 2019 to today, has forced countries around the world to resolve virus containment measures in order to slow down the contagion curve. Between these measures, the situation of lockdown, and the isolation or limitation of social contact between the citizens, there has been an unknown psychological impact. Certain groups (the elderly, children and teenagers, and the clinical population, for instance) arouse serious fears among professionals due to their greater vulnerability and ignorance regarding the short- and long-term consequences. The main purposes of this work are first of all to evaluate the consequences of the lockdown in children and teenagers diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sleep-related problems, and problems with executive functions. Secondly, we aim to compare the effects produced with respect to the previously mentioned variables with normotypic subjects; that is to say, between a group that was subject to lockdown and another group that was not confined. The findings show that the clinic confined group had high levels of state anxiety and problems with sleep and executive functions; differences could also be seen between the two groups, with the confined ADHD group being more negatively affected in all measured variables.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of a physical activity program, eight-week and based on small sided games, on some variables associated to executive function construct. The participants in the study were 54 adolescents, who were physically inactive, from the city of Priego (Córdoba, Spain), whose age ranged between 15 and 16 years old (<em>M</em>=15.35; <em>SD=</em> .48). The study was based on a quasi-experimental pre-post design with two randomized groups, control and experimental. The instruments used to evaluate the cognitive skills were Digits and Letters and Numbers tests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), the Trail Making Test (A and B) and the Stroop Test. It was realized an analysis of the mixed variance 2x2 to determine the effects of the treatment. Results showed positive effects of the physical activity program in subtest of WISC-IV and Trail Making Test B, although the effect size was weak. It is proposed to increase the time of intervention and apply different treatments to observe the impact of type of activity for future research