Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
7-2019
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) and bilingualism have been shown to influence executive functioning during early childhood. Less is known, however, about how the two factors interact within an individual. By analyzing a nationally representative sample of approximately 18,200 children who were tracked from ages 5 to 7 across four waves, both higher SES and bilingualism were found to account for greater performance on the inhibition and shifting aspects of executive functions (EF) and self‐regulatory behaviors in classroom. However, only SES reliably predicted verbal working memory. Furthermore, bilingualism moderated the effects of SES by ameliorating the detrimental consequences of low‐SES on EF and self‐regulatory behaviors. These findings underscore bilingualism's power to enrich executive functioning and self‐regulatory behaviors, especially among underprivileged children.
Discipline
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Child Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Child Development
Volume
90
Issue
4
First Page
1215
Last Page
1235
ISSN
0009-3920
Identifier
10.1111/cdev.13032
Publisher
Wiley: 12 months
Citation
HARTANTO, Andree, TOH, Wei Xing, & YANG, Hwajin.(2019). Bilingualism narrows socioeconomic disparities in executive functions and self-regulatory behaviors during early childhood: Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study. Child Development, 90(4), 1215-1235.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2460
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13032