Social, environmental, and neural influences of executive function ability in adolescence

Executive function (EF), the set of attentional and control processes necessary to facilitate goal directed behavior, are strongly predictive of many critical life outcomes (e.g., (Alloway & Alloway, 2010; Cortés Pascual et al., 2019). Thus, it is helpful to better understand the factors that might influence the developmental trajectory of EF. The current dissertation proposes to explore how factors such as one’s social function, social environment, and brain signaling shape EF ability in adolescence. First, we test the bidirectional association between EF and social function across a longitudinal sample of adolescence. Next, we propose to test how various factors commonly thought to independently influence EF ability come together in unique ways to better explain EF in adolescence. Finally, we plan to test whether the differentiability of neural activation patterns during an EF task relates to EF ability. As a whole, this dissertation aims to inform our understanding of EF maturation across adolescence and highlights some of the many complex interactive factors that can shape EF ability. Ultimately, we hope this work can bring us one step closer to understanding how EF ability develops and therefore helping those who struggle with this critical cognitive ability.