The main purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Ratings of Everyday Executive Functioning (REEF), which was developed and validated by Nilsen and her colleagues(2017) to evaluate the executive function of preschool...
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Ratings of Everyday Executive Functioning (REEF), which was developed and validated by Nilsen and her colleagues(2017) to evaluate the executive function of preschoolers, In other words, The REEF developed overseas for 3-5 years old was validated for domestic preschoolers, and a new parent-reporting scale was added to the existing scale or task performance measurement method for preschoolers' executive function. It was intended to contribute to the activation of research on executive function of preschoolers. In this study, the validity (construct validity, convergent validity, concurrent validity, cross validity) of REEF were examined using three samples. This study included Korean mothers and their children who ranged in age from 3 to 5 years old.
First, in order to examine the validity of REEF (construct validity, convergent validity, and concurrent validity), the final questions were completed through translation-back translation, review from a Korean language and literature expert and preliminary research. And then a total of 300 pairs (Study Subject 1) of mothers and preschoolers aged 3-5 years living in the metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, etc.) completed a questionnaire regarding mothers’parenting behavior, children’s everyday executive function, executive function, problem behaviors and mind theory. The executive function of preschoolers was measured by the Ratings of Everyday Executive Functioning [REEF] developed by Nilsen et al. (2017) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version [BRIEF-P] by Isquith et al. (2004). Mothers' parenting behavior was measured using the Parenting Behavior Scale developed by Park Joo-hee (2001). The problem behaviors of preschoolers were measured using a questionnaire that by Mijeong Kim (2010), which was a adapted and modified version of the problem behavior scale by Reid, Hong, and Wade (2009). The theory of mind was measured as validated by Sunyoung Yoon (2019) on the Children's Social Understanding Scale (CSUS) developed by Tahiroglu et al. (2014).
Next, in order to examine the convergent validity of the construct validity of the REEF scale and the concurrent validity of the criterion-related validity, a total of 57 pairs of preschoolers (ages 3-5) and mothers living in Seoul and Incheon (Study Subject 2) were subjected to data. The preschoolers' executive function was measured using the REEF scale confirmed through Study Subject 1, and the day/night task (Gerstadt, Hong, & Diamond, 1994) and the whispering task (Kochanska, Murray, Jacques, Koenig, & Vandegeest, 1996) were used for the executive function task to measure inhibition. Working memory was measured by a forward/backward digit span task (Geumju Kwak, Sangwoo Oh, and Cheongtaek Kim, 2011), and cognitive flexibility was measured by a Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task (Frye, Zelazo, & Palfai, 1995), planning and organizing were measured using the Tower of Hanoi [TOH] task (Welsh, 1991; Welsh et al., 1991). In addition, among children's language ability, the receptive vocabulary ability was measured by the Receptive Expressive Vocabulary Test (REVT-R) developed by Young-Tae Kim, Kyung-Hoon Hong, Kyung-Hee Kim, Hye-Sung Chang, and Ju-Yeon Lee (2009). Finally, in order to examine the cross validity, a total of 300 mothers living in the metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi) reported on the executive function of their preschoolers (ages 3-5). Study subject 3 was different from study subject 1, but there was no difference in demographic characteristics. The mothers who participated in the study responded to the REEF questions confirmed earlier.
The results of the validity of REEF confirmed through three samples are summarized as follows. First, after going through the translation-reverse translation and the review process by a Korean writer, a preliminary survey was conducted to confirm the clarity and appropriateness of the REEF questions. As a result of the item analysis of REEF, the quality of the items was confirmed and then the final questions were confirmed. Second, as a result of conducting exploratory factor analysis to examine construct validity, all items except for one item showed an acceptable fit of factor loading, indicating that a single factor was suitable as in the study that developed the original scale. Third, to demonstrate convergent validity among construct validity, correlations between REEF and BRIEF-P, REEF and executive function measured by the execution function performance task were analyzed, respectively. As a result, the executive function measured through REEF showed a significant correlation with the executive function measured through the BRIEF-P and the executive function task, and convergent validity was confirmed with this result. Fourth, in order to examine concurrent validity of the criterion-related validity, the correlation between mother's parenting behavior, preschoolers’ theory of mind, problem behavior and language ability which have been previously proven to be related to executive function was investigated. Fifth, as a result of cross validity testing whether the results examined through study subject 1 appear the same to the new subject, factor loadings of all items except for the two items were found to be similar.
In conclusion, the current study is meaningful in that it provided a new and additional tool to the executive function. This was mainly measured through existing scales and experimental tasks, by examining the validity of REEF, which evaluates preschoolers’everyday executive functions, through the mother's report. REEF validated from various aspects can be used in various ways in the future. For example, it can be used in research that reveals individual differences in executive function, factors affecting executive function, and developmental results of executive function, etc., thereby contributing to the expansion and activation of research on executive function in preschoolers.