The relationship between executive functions and writing in children: a systematic review

Writing is a complex task that is acquired in the early primary school years and continues to develop through adolescence and beyond. Studying the cognitive processes that support writing skills during the acquisition phase may be crucial to support this complex skill especially in less-skilled writers. Executive Functions (EF) could have an important role as they are high cognitive control processes that allow individuals to control and plan thoughts and actions in order to achieve a goal. Given that EF have a crucial development during childhood, when the basic writing skills are acquired, this systematic review aims to investigate the contribution of the main EF components to the writing process in children. Search string focused on three main concepts: executive functions, writing, and children. Twenty-six studies were included following the guidelines of the PRISMA Statement. From the analyzed studies, working memory, in comparison to inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning, emerged as the most studied and the most related to writing skills. Nevertheless, the results also support the involvement of all EF basic components in writing, with a role that could vary depending on the considered writing process.0