Psychometric properties of a combined go/no-go and continuous performance task across childhood.

Abstract

Despite the critical importance of attention for children's self-regulation and mental health, there are few task-based measures of this construct appropriate for use across a wide childhood age range including very young children. Three versions of a combined go/no-go and continuous performance task (GNG/CPT) were created with varying length and timing parameters to maximize their appropriateness for age groups spanning early to middle childhood. As part of the baseline assessment of a clinical trial, 452 children aged 3-12 years (50% male, 50% female; 52% White, non-Hispanic, 27% Black, 16% Hispanic/Latinx; 6% other ethnicity/race) completed the task. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that all task versions assessed two latent factors, labeled response inhibition and sustained attention. Versions for older children elicited lower overall accuracy while equating levels of inhibitory demand. All versions showed limited floor and ceiling effects, as well as developmental sensitivity. Boys showed higher commission error rates and children from lower income households showed lower performance across multiple task metrics. Task metrics, especially d prime and accuracy summary scores, correlated with parent-reported executive function and externalizing behavior. Task scores show promise as valid and sensitive indicators of inhibition and sustained attention across heterogeneous pediatric age groups. Public Significance StatementThere are very few well-developed measures of children's management of their attention, although attention is fundamental to children's learning and well-being. This study describes and validates a task that can be used even with very young children to measure and monitor their attention skills. The task may be especially useful for clinicians and researchers hoping to understand and support attention in children of widely varying ages.

Adenotonsillectomy for Snoring and Mild Sleep Apnea in Children

“…The GNG test is a computer-based attention test developed for longitudinal studies of children aged 3 to 12 years. The primary outcome is d-prime, a signal detectability parameter that assesses the child’s ability to correctly identify targets corrected for their response bias (higher, better) …”

“…The primary outcome is d-prime, a signal detectability parameter that assesses the child's ability to correctly identify targets corrected for their response bias (higher, better). 12 Secondary outcomes included an objective test of fine motor control, the National Institutes of Health Toolbox 9-Hole Dexterity Test, with times for the child to complete the task averaged across hands; caregiver ratings of behavior assessed by the Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) total problem score, a composite of scores of all specific behavior problem scales obtained from the preschool or school-age versions according to the child's age; SDB symptom burden assessed with the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire-Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder (PSQ-SRBD) scale, scores 0 to 1; sleepiness assessed with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale modified for children (mESS), scores 0 to 24; disease-specific quality of life assessed by the Obstructive Sleep Apnea 18 (OSA-18) assessment tool, scores 18 to 126; global quality of life assessed from the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), scores 0 to 100; resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure (age-, sex-, and height-adjusted percentiles 13 ); and BMI. Higher scores indicate worse outcomes for all measures except the PedsQL.…”