Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Executive function in preschool children: examination through everyday behavior.

Peter K Isquith1, Gerard A Gioia, Kimberly Andrews Espy

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Darmouth Hitchcock Medical School, One Medical Center Dr., Lebanon, NH 03756-0001, USA. peter.k.isquith@dartmouth.edu

Developmental Neuropsychology
|July 28, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Assessing executive function in preschoolers is difficult. A modified rating scale, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Preschool (BRIEF-P), reliably measures these skills in everyday contexts.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Longitudinal associations between preschool executive control and adolescent sleep: exploring the possible moderating role of negative affectivity.

Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence·2026
Same author

Return-to-school protocols in pediatric concussion care.

Seminars in pediatric neurology·2026
Same author

ComBat Harmonization With and Without Empirical Bayes Estimation for Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: a CARE4Kids Study.

Research square·2026
Same author

Examining Associations Between Preschool Executive Control and Adolescent Physical Activity, Day-to-Day Physical Activity Variability, and Sedentary Behavior.

Journal of physical activity & health·2026
Same author

Navigating the Emotional Challenges of Grade School: The Influence of Early Family Strains and a Lack of Parental Responsiveness on Trajectories of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms.

Family process·2025
Same author

Evaluating bidirectional, longitudinal associations between adolescent executive control and eating behaviors.

Appetite·2025

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Assessing executive function in preschool children (ages 2-5) presents challenges due to limited standardized tools and young children's participation variability.
  • Rating scales offer ecological validity by measuring behavior in natural settings, making them suitable for this age group.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To adapt the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) for preschoolers (BRIEF-P) to assess executive functions in everyday contexts.
  • To evaluate the psychometric properties and factor structure of the BRIEF-P.
  • To compare executive function ratings between preschool children with developmental disorders and typically developing controls.

Main Methods:

  • The BRIEF was modified into a 63-item scale (BRIEF-P) for parents and teachers of children aged 2-5 years.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Scale development involved samples of 460 parents and 302 teachers.
  • Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to identify underlying executive function factors.

    • Main Results:

    • The BRIEF-P demonstrated good internal consistency and temporal stability.
    • Factor analyses identified three consistent factors: Emergent Metacognition, Flexibility, and Inhibitory Self-Control.
    • Preschool children with developmental disorders showed significantly greater executive difficulties compared to matched controls.

    Conclusions:

    • The BRIEF-P is a psychometrically sound, complementary tool for assessing executive functions in preschool children through everyday behaviors.
    • This rating-scale methodology provides reliable insights into executive function challenges in natural environments.
    • The findings highlight the utility of the BRIEF-P for identifying executive function deficits in young children, including those with developmental disorders.