Predictors of cognitive enhancement after training in two samples of Argentinean preschoolers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds

SEGRETIN, M. SOLEDAD; LIPINA, SEBASTIAN J.; HERMIDA, MARÍA JULIA; SHEFFIELD, T.; NELSON, J.M.; ESPY, KIMBERLY A.; COLOMBO, JORGE A.

Frontiers in Psychology

Frontiers

Lugar: Lausanne; Año: 2014 vol. 5 p. 1 - 21

The association between socioeconomic background and child cognitive development is well documented. However, few studies have examined how specific socioenvironmental factors may moderate the impact of cognitive interventions among poor children. In the present study, we examined how such factors predicted cognitive trajectories during the preschool years, in two samples of children from the city of Buenos Aires and Salta in Argentina, who participated in two cognitive training programs during 2002-2005: the School Intervention Program (SIP; N=745) and the Cognitive Training Program (CTP; N=333). In both Programs children were trained weekly during 16 weeks and tested before and after the intervention using a battery of tasks assessing several cognitive control processes (attention, inhibitory control, working memory, flexibility and planning). After applying mixed model analyses, we identified sets of socioenvironmental predictors that were associated with higher levels of pre-intervention cognitive control performance and with more improvement in cognitive control from pre- to post-intervention. Child age, housing conditions, social resources, parental occupation and family composition were associated with performance in specific cognitive domains at baseline. Housing conditions, social resources, parental occupation, family composition, maternal physical health, age, group (intervention/control) and the number of training sessions were related to improvement in specific cognitive skills from pre- to post-training.