Targeting cognitive control to reduce anxiety in very young children: A proof of concept study

Abstract

Objective: Underdeveloped cognitive control (CC)-the capacity to flexibly adjust to changing environments-may predispose some children to early onset anxiety disorders and represents a promising intervention target. The current study established and pilot-tested "Camp Kidpower"-a novel group-based, interactive CC training intervention-and assessed its impacts on behavioral and neurophysiological indices of CC among preschool children with elevated anxiety symptoms. Methods: Forty-four anxious children (4-6 years) were enrolled in Camp Kidpower, delivered in four sessions over 10 days. Before and after camp, children's capacity for CC was measured using well-validated, non-trained behavioral tasks and errorrelated negativity (ERN). Child anxiety symptoms were measured by parent report on the Spence Preschool Anxiety Scale. Results: Thirty-two children completed the study, as defined by completion of preand follow-up assessments and at least three camp sessions. From baseline to after camp, performance on behavioral tests of CC improved, ERN amplitude increased, and anxiety symptoms decreased. Conclusion: Results provide initial evidence that play-based cognitive training targeted to behavioral and brain markers of CC reduces anxiety in preschoolers.

Early Childhood Executive Function Predicts Concurrent and Later Social and Behavioral Outcomes: A Review and Meta-Analysis

“…If the role of EF is indeed causal, then our results suggest targeting EF to improve certain outcomes may be warranted in some cases but not in others. For example, some have suggested EF interventions may improve internalizing behaviors in children (Ip et al, 2019;Schroder et al, 2022). Our results suggest this is not likely to be effective.…”