Executive function programs as prevention and early intervention

Download BrainFuture’s Summary Statement on Executive Function and Mental Health

• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect almost half of U.S. children¹Sacks, V and Murphy D – Child Trend. (Updated February 2018). The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/publications/prevalence-adverse-childhood-experiences-nationally-state-race-ethnicity
• One in six U.S. children aged 6-17 experiences a mental health disorder each year²National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mental Health By The Numbers. Retrieved March 9, 2020 from https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mentalhealth-by-the-numbers
• There has been a 52% rise in adolescent major depressive episodes from 2005 to 2017³American Psychological Association. (2019, March 15). Mental health issues increased significantly in young adults over last decade: Shift may be due in part to rise of digital media, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 9, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190315110908.htm
• $247 billion is spent each year in U.S. on childhood mental disorders⁴National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Prevention of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse Among Children, Youth, and Young Adults: Research Advances and Promising Interventions; O’Connell ME, Boat T, Warner KE, editors. Preventing Mental,Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009.

More states and school districts are recognizing the need for a holistic approach when addressing the connections between ACEs, academic achievement, mental health and lifelong well-being. Research has established that ACEs compromise development of executive cognitive functions and associated self-regulation skills, and that the limitations in these specific skills are in turn associated with poor academic outcomes, failure to graduate from high school, mental health problems, unemployment, and incarcerations.⁵Pingault, J.B., Tremblay, R.E., Vitaro, F., Carbonneau, R., Genolini, C., Falissard, B., & Cote, S. (2011) Childhood trajectories of inattention and hyperactivity and prediction of educational attainment in early adulthood: a 16-year longitudinal population-based study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168:1164–70.⁶Bridgett, D. J., Burt, N. M., Edwards, E. S., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2015). Intergenerational transmission of selfregulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework. Psychological bulletin, 141(3), 602–654. doi:10.1037/a0038662⁷Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., … Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 2693–2698. doi:10.1073/pnas.1010076108

Fortunately, there are proven, scalable, school-based interventions—many with at-home offerings too—that strengthen executive function and self-regulation skills, thereby reducing the lifelong consequences of ACEs. These skills prime children’s brains for learning and make it possible for them to better focus and effectively control their behaviors, and at the same time they can dramatically improve academic outcomes. The increased cognitive skills and academic learning together build a stronger foundation for lifelong well-being and positive contributions to society,  the workplace, and community. Strengthening children’s executive function skills is both a primary prevention and an early intervention and should be considered as a necessary part of the continuum of mental health interventions in schools. Click here for BrainFuture’s summary statement on executive function and mental health.

[1] Sacks, V and Murphy D – Child Trend. (Updated February 2018). The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity. Retrieved from https://www.childtrends.org/publications/prevalence-adverse-childhood-experiences-nationally-state-race-ethnicity
[2] National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mental Health By The Numbers. Retrieved March 9, 2020 from https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mentalhealth-by-the-numbers
[3] American Psychological Association. (2019, March 15). Mental health issues increased significantly in young adults over last decade: Shift may be due in part to rise of digital media, study suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 9, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190315110908.htm
[4] National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Prevention of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse Among Children, Youth, and Young Adults: Research Advances and Promising Interventions; O’Connell ME, Boat T, Warner KE, editors. Preventing Mental,Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2009.
[5] Pingault, J.B., Tremblay, R.E., Vitaro, F., Carbonneau, R., Genolini, C., Falissard, B., & Cote, S. (2011) Childhood trajectories of inattention and hyperactivity and prediction of educational attainment in early adulthood: a 16-year longitudinal population-based study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168:1164–70.
[6] Bridgett, D. J., Burt, N. M., Edwards, E. S., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2015). Intergenerational transmission of selfregulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework. Psychological bulletin, 141(3), 602–654. doi:10.1037/a0038662
[7] Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., … Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 2693–2698. doi:10.1073/pnas.1010076108