Age-Related Performance on the Brixton Spatial Anticipation Test in Healthy Child and Adolescent Girls: A Preliminary Evaluation.
The Brixton Spatial Anticipation Test assesses individuals' cognitive flexibility in terms of rule detection and attainment. It has been used to assess executive functioning in both clinical and nonclinical adult samples. However, little is currently known about the suitability of this task for younger populations. The current study therefore aimed to provide an initial exploration of this task's suitability for young people. Brixton responses from a healthy sample of children and adolescents were presented to investigate performance in both rule detection and rule attainment, respectively. A convenience sample of 72 female participants (Mage = 14.95 years, SD = 1.53 years, range = 11-17 years; MIQ = 103.76, SD = 10.81) was studied. The sample was divided according to age into four groups (11-12 years, 13-14 years, 15 years, and 16-17 years) to allow for developmental trajectory. No significant age performance differences were found. Small effect sizes between age groups lend support to the null findings. The current study suggests that the Brixton task norms are suitable for use with individuals aged 11 to 17 years old. However, normative work is still needed in this area, incorporating an adult sample for comparison, to comment upon the developmental trajectory specific to this task.
a Feeding and Eating Disorders Service, Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health , Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust , London , England.
Lucy
L
Harvey
a Feeding and Eating Disorders Service, Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health , Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust , London , England.|b Eating Disorders Service, The Huntercombe Hospital Maidenhead , Berkshire , United Kingdom.
Mark
M
Rose
c Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths , University of London , London , England.
Rosie
R
Jonsson
a Feeding and Eating Disorders Service, Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health , Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust , London , England.|d Regional Eating Disorders Service , Oslo , Norway.|e Ellern Mede Ridgeway Service for Eating Disorders , London , England.
Bryan
B
Lask
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology
Brixton; adolescent; age-related performance; child; cognitive flexibility