title: Development of a version of the self-ordered pointing task: a working memory task for Brazilian preschoolers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Working memory is a fundamental cognitive function and is predictive of outcomes and achievement in a wide range of domains from an early age. The focus of this study was to develop a computerized Brazilian version of the Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT) for preschoolers and to provide initial normative and validation data for this task.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample of the present study was composed of 248 children aged 3 (n = 41), 4 (n = 88) and 5 (n = 119) years from 13 private and public schools in Belo Horizonte. Children were evaluated with the SOPT and the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale (CMMS), a measure of intelligence, and their parents completed the Brazilian Criterion of Economic Classification (CCEB) to assess their SES. A subsample of parents of 184 children also filled the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 11/2-5 years (CBCL 11/2-5), a measure of psychopathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A multiple regression analysis found chronological age, intelligence, and SES to be predictive of performance on the SOPT. Furthermore, five-year olds performed better than three- and four-year olds in the task. A difference between children in private and public kindergartens also emerged. Additionally, SOPT performance was negatively correlated with Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total psychopathological problems, as well as to several other psychopathological measures as accessed by the CBCL, although the correlations were small.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, this study provides initial normative and validation data for the SOPT, but further validation studies are needed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sallum
authors.affiliation: b Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, School of Psychology and Psychiatry , Monash University , Clayton , Australia.
authors.forename: Fernanda Gomes
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: da Mata
authors.affiliation: a Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , Brazil.
authors.forename: Nathália Falcone
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Cheib
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychiatry , University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio , San Antonio , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Mathias
authors.affiliation: a Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , Brazil.
authors.forename: Débora Marques
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: a Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro Fernandes
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Malloy-Diniz
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D001938:Brazil; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010290:Parents; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Working memory; construct validity; convergent validity; ecological validity; preschool; self-ordered pointing task