Preliminary Psychometrics for the Executive Function Challenge Task: A Novel, “Hot” Flexibility, and Planning Task for Youth

Authors

Lauren Kenworthy, Children’s National Medical Center
Andrew Freeman, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Allison Ratto, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders – Children’s National Medical Center
Katerina Dudley, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kelly K. Powell, Yale School of Medicine
Cara E. Pugliese, Children’s National Medical Center
John F. Strang, Children’s National Medical Center
Alyssa Verbalis, Children’s National Medical Center
Laura G. Anthony, Children’s National Medical Center

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-17-2020

Publication Title

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

First page number:

1

Last page number:

8

Abstract

Objective: Executive functions (EF) drive health and educational outcomes and therefore are increasingly common treatment targets. Most treatment trials rely on questionnaires to capture meaningful change because ecologically valid, pediatric performance-based EF tasks are lacking. The Executive Function Challenge Task (EFCT) is a standardized, treatment-sensitive, objective measure which assesses flexibility and planning in the context of provocative social interactions, making it a “hot” EF task. Method: We investigate the structure, reliability, and validity of the EFCT in youth with autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder; n = 129), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with flexibility problems (n = 93), and typically developing (TD; n = 52) youth. Results: The EFCT can be coded reliably, has a two-factor structure (flexibility and planning), and adequate internal consistency and consistency across forms. Unlike a traditional performance-based EF task (verbal fluency), it shows significant correlations with parent-reported EF, indicating ecological validity. EFCT performance distinguishes youth with known EF problems from TD youth and is not significantly related to visual pattern recognition, or social communication/understanding in autistic children. Conclusions: The EFCT demonstrates adequate reliability and validity and may provide developmentally appropriate, treatment-sensitive, and ecologically valid assessment of “hot” EF in youth. It can be administered in controlled settings by masked administrators.

Keywords

Autism; Behavior; ADHD; Cognition; Objective; Measurement

Disciplines

Psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

264 KB

Language

English

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Repository Citation

Kenworthy, L., Freeman, A., Ratto, A., Dudley, K., Powell, K. K., Pugliese, C. E., Strang, J. F., Verbalis, A., Anthony, L. G. (2020). Preliminary Psychometrics for the Executive Function Challenge Task: A Novel, “Hot” Flexibility, and Planning Task for Youth. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 1-8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S135561772000017X