The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents
The development of executive functions (EF) has been widely investigated and is associated with various domains of expertise, such as academic achievement and sports performance. Multiple factors are assumed to influence the development of EF, among them biological maturation. Currently the effect o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-09-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Physiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.703312/full |
| _version_ | 1818717808677093376 |
|---|---|
| author | Felien Laureys Lotte Middelbos Nikki Rommers Silke De Waelle Eline Coppens Eline Coppens Mireille Mostaert Frederik J. A. Deconinck Matthieu Lenoir |
| author_facet | Felien Laureys Lotte Middelbos Nikki Rommers Silke De Waelle Eline Coppens Eline Coppens Mireille Mostaert Frederik J. A. Deconinck Matthieu Lenoir |
| author_sort | Felien Laureys |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of executive functions (EF) has been widely investigated and is associated with various domains of expertise, such as academic achievement and sports performance. Multiple factors are assumed to influence the development of EF, among them biological maturation. Currently the effect of biological maturation on EF performance is largely unexplored, in contrast to other domains like physical development or sports performance. Therefore, this study aimed (a) to explore the effect of chronological age on EF performance and (b) to investigate to what extent age-related changes found in EF are affected by biological maturation on both sexes. To this end, EF performance and degree of maturity, indexed by percentage of predicted adult height (%PAH), of 90 adolescents (11–16 years old, 54% males) were measured on three occasions in a time frame of 12 months. A Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) approach was used to examine the association between chronological age and %PAH and the weighted sum scores for each EF component (i.e., inhibition, planning, working memory, shifting). All models were run separately for both sexes. The males’ results indicated that EF performance improved with age and degree of maturity on all four components. Interaction effects between age and %PAH on inhibition showed that at a younger age, males with a higher %PAH had a lower chance of performing well on inhibition, whereas at later ages, males with a higher %PAH had a higher chance to have a good inhibition performance. For working memory, it seems that there is no maturity effect at a younger age, while at later ages, a disadvantage for later maturing peers compared to on-time and earlier maturing male adolescents emerged. Females showed slightly different results. Here, age positively influenced EF performance, whereas maturity only influenced inhibition. Interaction effects emerged for working memory only, with opposite results from the males. At younger ages, females with lower %PAH values seem to be scoring higher, whereas at later ages, no maturity effect is observed. This study is one of the first to investigate the effect of biological maturation on EF performance, and shows that distinct components of EF are influenced by maturational status, although the effects are different in both sexes. Further research is warranted to unravel the implications for maturation-driven effects on EF that might significantly affect domains of human functioning like academic achievement and social development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:41:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1f31ad1dd0a6403b90ac58eba14d1c51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-042X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:41:02Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1f31ad1dd0a6403b90ac58eba14d1c512022-12-21T21:35:00ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2021-09-011210.3389/fphys.2021.703312703312The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in AdolescentsFelien Laureys0Lotte Middelbos1Nikki Rommers2Silke De Waelle3Eline Coppens4Eline Coppens5Mireille Mostaert6Frederik J. A. Deconinck7Matthieu Lenoir8Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sport Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sport Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumThe development of executive functions (EF) has been widely investigated and is associated with various domains of expertise, such as academic achievement and sports performance. Multiple factors are assumed to influence the development of EF, among them biological maturation. Currently the effect of biological maturation on EF performance is largely unexplored, in contrast to other domains like physical development or sports performance. Therefore, this study aimed (a) to explore the effect of chronological age on EF performance and (b) to investigate to what extent age-related changes found in EF are affected by biological maturation on both sexes. To this end, EF performance and degree of maturity, indexed by percentage of predicted adult height (%PAH), of 90 adolescents (11–16 years old, 54% males) were measured on three occasions in a time frame of 12 months. A Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) approach was used to examine the association between chronological age and %PAH and the weighted sum scores for each EF component (i.e., inhibition, planning, working memory, shifting). All models were run separately for both sexes. The males’ results indicated that EF performance improved with age and degree of maturity on all four components. Interaction effects between age and %PAH on inhibition showed that at a younger age, males with a higher %PAH had a lower chance of performing well on inhibition, whereas at later ages, males with a higher %PAH had a higher chance to have a good inhibition performance. For working memory, it seems that there is no maturity effect at a younger age, while at later ages, a disadvantage for later maturing peers compared to on-time and earlier maturing male adolescents emerged. Females showed slightly different results. Here, age positively influenced EF performance, whereas maturity only influenced inhibition. Interaction effects emerged for working memory only, with opposite results from the males. At younger ages, females with lower %PAH values seem to be scoring higher, whereas at later ages, no maturity effect is observed. This study is one of the first to investigate the effect of biological maturation on EF performance, and shows that distinct components of EF are influenced by maturational status, although the effects are different in both sexes. Further research is warranted to unravel the implications for maturation-driven effects on EF that might significantly affect domains of human functioning like academic achievement and social development.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.703312/fullexecutive functionmaturationadolescencedevelopmentgeneralized estimation equation |
| spellingShingle | Felien Laureys Lotte Middelbos Nikki Rommers Silke De Waelle Eline Coppens Eline Coppens Mireille Mostaert Frederik J. A. Deconinck Matthieu Lenoir The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents Frontiers in Physiology executive function maturation adolescence development generalized estimation equation |
| title | The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents |
| title_full | The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents |
| title_fullStr | The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents |
| title_short | The Effects of Age, Biological Maturation and Sex on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents |
| title_sort | effects of age biological maturation and sex on the development of executive functions in adolescents |
| topic | executive function maturation adolescence development generalized estimation equation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.703312/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT felienlaureys theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT lottemiddelbos theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT nikkirommers theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT silkedewaelle theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT elinecoppens theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT elinecoppens theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT mireillemostaert theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT frederikjadeconinck theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT matthieulenoir theeffectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT felienlaureys effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT lottemiddelbos effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT nikkirommers effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT silkedewaelle effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT elinecoppens effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT elinecoppens effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT mireillemostaert effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT frederikjadeconinck effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents AT matthieulenoir effectsofagebiologicalmaturationandsexonthedevelopmentofexecutivefunctionsinadolescents |