Executive functions and social development: Bidirectional pathways and gender differences from kindergarten to
Maram Badarneh1, Reout Arbel1, Yair Ziv1
1Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Child Development
|July 10, 2026
Summary
Executive functions (EFs) like inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility are linked to better socio-emotional functioning in children. Early behavior problems can predict lower EFs, highlighting bidirectional developmental pathways.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Socio-emotional functioning and executive functions (EFs) are crucial for child development.
- The precise bidirectional relationships between EFs and socio-emotional skills throughout childhood are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the bidirectional links between specific EFs (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility) and socio-emotional functioning (prosocial behavior, externalizing, and internalizing problems).
- To examine these relationships from kindergarten through elementary school (Grades 4-6).
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 225 Arab and Jewish children assessed at two time points.
- Measured executive functions and socio-emotional behaviors across different developmental stages.
Main Results:
- Executive function components were concurrently associated with fewer externalizing and internalizing problems.
- Cognitive flexibility in kindergarten predicted prosocial behavior.
- Early externalizing problems predicted subsequent decreases in inhibitory control.
- Gender moderated some concurrent and longitudinal pathways involving cognitive flexibility.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest complex, bidirectional relationships between executive functions and socio-emotional development in children.
- Results have implications for understanding and supporting children's socio-emotional and cognitive growth.
- The study underscores the importance of considering distinct EF components and socio-emotional outcomes in developmental research.
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