Research in the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychology (CAN) Lab broadly focuses on the role of executive functions in development, spanning from the preschool years through early adulthood. Executive functions are self-regulatory abilities that we use in situations that are new, difficult, dangerous, and/or that require a different way of responding. Some of these abilities emerge early in life and are foundational to purposeful behaviour, like paying attention, keeping track of important information, and stopping ourselves from acting impulsively. Other abilities are more complex and take longer to develop, such as learning how to juggle competing demands for our time, plan effectively, and keep ourselves organized. Our studies examine how these abilities develop, why they are important, and what we can do to strengthen and/or support them in order to reduce impairment, and improve function, in day-to-day life.
News
Teens and goals: New work pubilshed by former student Mahsa Sadeghi in the Canadian Journal of School Psychology
Setting and attaining goals is linked to many positive outcomes for youth, but not all youth are successful in goal pursuit–-particularly in the context of having ADHD. In her doctoral work, Mahsa Sadeghi, conducted interviews with youth who do or do not have ADHD to examine similarities and differences in their goal striving. Both groups were also compared to undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo. Common themes highlighted reasons for, resources toward, and stressors associated with goal pursuit. However, youth with ADHD rated academic goals as less interesting even when successfully attained, applied more effort and allocated more strategies even when goals were of high interest (e.g., hobbies), endorsed using fewer executive functions (e.g., planning, organizing) during goal pursuit, and did not link immediate goals to future ambitions. This qualitative study provides a voice for youth with ADHD regarding their experience of goal-striving and offers a perspective for clinicians, caregivers, and educators to consider when working with adolescents who have this relatively common neurodevelopmental disorder. Mahsa's work was recently published in the Canadian Journal of School Psychology (https://doi.org/10.1177/082957352513246).
The CAN Lab investigates self-regulation and well-being among university students
There is increasing concern that challenges inherent in university life are significantly and negatively impacting the well-being of students. In our latest work, we find that well-being is particularly vulnerable among students who enter university lacking the self-regulatory cognitive skills that are necessary for pursuing and achieving goals in a demanding academic environment (like planning and time management). Importantly, well-being can be bolstered in this same group of at-risk students by encouraging them to reframe how they think about stressful situations—an emotion regulation strategy known as cognitive reappraisal. This study furthers our understanding of factors that influence the well-being of university students and provides practical ideas for supporting and fostering their resilience. More information is available at the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science.
Think well, be well, teen edition: Student Fatima Wasif publishes in Journal of Happiness Studies
As teenagers enter high school, they face increased demands for independent academic work coupled with the need to establish new social networks. In this work, we demonstrate that youth with executive function challenges are more likely to experience a decrement in their sense of well-being upon entering high school; however, this effect is lessened if they feel connected with others (e.g., peers and family). This work, undertaken with youth residing in Waterloo Region, has just been published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.