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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on June 7, 2007
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(8):983-994; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsm042
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Attention and Executive Functions in Adolescents with Spina Bifida

Brigid M. Rose, PhD and Grayson N. Holmbeck, PhD

Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brigid Rose, VA Northern California Health Care System (116), 150 Muir Road, Martinez, CA 94553. E-mail: brigid.rose2{at}va.gov.


  Abstract

Objective This study was designed to examine attention processes and executive functioning in adolescents with spina bifida, and to explore whether impairment in these domains contributes to problems with social adjustment. Methods A sample of adolescents with spina bifida (n = 68) and a matched comparison group (n = 68) and their families were followed longitudinally. All participants completed questionnaires, and the adolescent participants underwent neurocognitive testing. Results The spina bifida sample showed greater impairment on objective and subjective measures of attention and executive functioning, even when differences in intellectual functioning were controlled. Additionally, attention and executive deficits were found to be predictive of social adjustment difficulties. A mediational analysis suggested the neurocognitive deficits mediate associations between spina bifida status and social adjustment difficulties. Conclusions Adolescents with spina bifida appear to exhibit clear impairment in attention and executive functioning and this impairment may contribute to their well-established social difficulties.

Key words: attention; executive functions; hydrocephalus; neural tube defects; social adjustment; spina bifida.

Received May 11, 2006; revision received April 14, 2007; accepted May 1, 2007


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