The influence of early life socio-environmental factors on executive performance in a healthy adult sample

ObjectiveAttempts have been made (with research efforts encouraged) to deconstruct the "race" concept into language, cultural, and life experience variables that can help explain performance differences found between ethnic groups (Romero et al., 2009). The extant empirical literature reveals that early environmental factors and life experiences (e.g., socioeconomic status) are related to cognitive test performance in adulthood (Byrd et al., 2006). This study examined the explanatory value of early life childhood resources in the relationship between ethnicity and neuropsychological test performance in adulthood.Participants/ MethodsNeurologically and psychologically healthy African American (n = 40), Caucasian (n = 14), and Hispanic (n = 107) college students ranging from 19-38 years of age. On average, participants had completed around 13 years of education, indicating that the majority were in the early stages of their undergraduate studies and mostly consisted of females (72%). Each participant completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery that included tests of executive function and an extensive background questionnaire.ResultsA one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the CA group was significantly older (F (2, 160) = 18.38, p = .045) compared to the AA and H groups, but the groups did not differ in terms of number of years of educations or gender. Also, an ANOVA revealed significant group test performance differences on the Stroop-C [F (2, 160) = 1.53, p = .047], but not on the TMT-B and COWAT. Furthermore, a Tukey post hoc revealed that there were no significant differences in test performance on Stroop-C between the groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that group performance differences on executive function tests were medium or non-existent and only partially explained by years of education and early life financial resources.ConclusionThe results are discussed in light of the existing literature, study strengths and limitations, as well as directions for future research. This research can aid in pinpointing variables crucial for interpreting differences in neuropsychological assessments among diverse populations, holding potential implications for intervention research and policy settings. It is particularly relevant in the context of the continuously evolving social, political, and economic landscapes of societies.