4 results
11 The Psychometric Characteristics of a Novel Metamemory Questionnaire for Children
- Mary Godfrey, Samantha van Terheyden, Gabriel Loud, Jack Wiese, Maxine Reger, Christopher Vaughan, Gerard Gioia
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 529-530
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
Metamemory is a component of metacognition that includes both the knowledge of factors that affect memory (i.e., declarative metamemory) and knowledge and application of factors in one's own learning and recall performance (i.e., procedural metamemory; Kreutzer et al., 1975). Previous researchers have examined children's metamemory through interviews and found that metamemory abilities are positively associated with age and performance on memory measures (see Godfrey et al., 2022 for review). However, there is not yet a standardized measure to evaluate children's metamemory. The current study aimed to examine the psychometric characteristics of a declarative metamemory questionnaire, the Measure of Metamemory (MoM-10), for children ages 6-12 years old. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that performance on the MoM-10 would not be associated with sex but would be positively associated with age and learning and memory performance.
Participants and Methods:A total of 75 English-speaking typically developing children between the ages of 6 to 12 years old were recruited for the current study (M age=9.1+1.92; females 49%). Participants completed the MoM-10 which assessed declarative metamemory via 10 multiple choice questions (accuracy score of 0 or 1 points per question) and required participants to provide an explanation for their multiple-choice answer (explanation score of 0, 1, or 2 points per question). The metamemory questionnaire provided two outcome variables: an Accuracy score of 10 possible points, and an Explanation score of 20 possible points. Additionally, participants completed a 3-trial pictorial learning/memory task which provided an Immediate Recall score and Delayed Recall score.
Results:As hypothesized, there were no sex differences on the MoM-10 Accuracy scores (t(73)=0.71, p=0.48) or Explanation scores (t(73)=-73, p=0.47). Consistent with our hypothesis, age was significantly associated with Accuracy (r=0.31, p<0.01) and Explanation scores (r=0.79, p<0.001). Internal consistency of the MOM-10 was moderate for the Explanation score (Cronbach's alpha=0.68) and low for the Accuracy score (KR-20=0.54). Lastly, after controlling for age, participants' MoM-10 Accuracy score was significantly associated with Immediate Recall (r=0.32, p<0.01) on the learning/memory task and the Explanation scores were significantly associated with the Immediate Recall (r=0.36, p<0.01) and Delayed Recall scores (r=0.32, p<0.01) on the learning/memory task.
Conclusions:The current study presents an initial review of psychometric properties of a metamemory questionnaire for children ages 6 to 12 years old. Additionally, as hypothesized, these results suggest the MOM-10 performance is significantly positively associated with participants' age and immediate and delayed recall performance on a pictorial learning/memory task. These associations provide lines of evidence for convergent validity given the expected maturation of metamemory with both age and with improvements in actual memory performance. However, based on the low internal consistency of the accuracy scores, further refinement will be explored including possibly rephrasing questions from the current item set or perhaps excluding current items in future use of the scale.
12 The Development of a Pediatric Metamemory Questionnaire and Scoring Procedure
- Jack Wiese, Mary Godfrey, Samantha van Terheyden, Gabriel Loud, Maxine Reger, Gerard Gioia, Christopher Vaughan
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 530-531
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
To create a standardized scoring procedure to evaluate open-ended responses as part of a novel questionnaire (Measure of Metamemory; MoM) designed to assess declarative metamemory in youth. Metamemory is an aspect of metacognition that is one’s knowledge of the factors related to storage and retrieval of information (Flavell 1971; Kreutzer et al., 1975), and includes both declarative metamemory (i.e., one’s knowledge about factors influencing memory) and procedural metamemory (i.e., one’s understanding of their own memory performance).
Participants and Methods:Fourteen short vignettes related to memory were administered to 100 participants (age 6-12) with questions such as, “Two children hear a story they must remember. The first person is 5 years old. The second person is 12 years old. Who is most likely to remember it best?” After answering, they were then prompted to explain their answer (i.e., “Why?”) and their responses were recorded verbatim. To develop standardized and objective criteria for each of the 14 open-ended responses, responses from a subsample of 20 youth were collectively examined by the study team and a scoring structure similar to open-ended items on common intelligence tests (e.g., WISC-V/WAIS-IV) was created. Two points (full credit) were awarded for complete and thorough understanding of memory processes related to the question; 1 point was given for partially accurate or incomplete understanding of the related memory process; and 0 points for an inability to correctly express an understanding of relevant memory concepts. This scoring guide was then applied independently by each of the six raters to an additional 25 participants (ages 6-12 mean age (SD)). To assess the interrater reliability of this 3-point ordinal scoring system, we examined both Fleiss’ kappa and 2-way random-effects, single-rater, absolute agreement Intra-Class Correlations (ICC).
Results:Across the six independent raters, reliability coefficients for each of the 14 items ranged from (Fleiss') k =. 277 to .792 (ICC ranged from .481 to .880). Of these 14 items, the kappa value was classified (using interpretation rules for Cohen’s kappa) as “substantial” for 10 items, “moderate” for 3 items, and “fair” for 1 item. Based on these lower inter-rater reliabilities, two items were subsequently removed from the measure to create the 12-item open-ended measure of metamemory, the MoM-12, with reliable scoring for youth as young as 6 years old.
Conclusions:A consensus process established a quantifiable scoring procedure to assess open-ended responses related to youth’s knowledge of memory (e.g., metamemory). Reliability metrics identified acceptable interrater reliabilities in 12 of the 14 original items. Further examination of psychometric properties, including internal consistency and lines of evidence for validity is needed. The successful crafting of a scoring procedure is a first step towards developing a psychometrically sound measure (the MoM) to evaluate and study metamemory concepts objectively and reliably in youth.
40 Metamemory performance of children with ADHD in comparison to typically developing children.
- Samantha van Terheyden, Mary Godfrey, Gabriel Loud, Jack Wiese, Maxine Reger, Christopher Vaughan, Gerard Gioia
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 647-648
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
Metamemory is an aspect of metacognition that is one's knowledge of memory and understanding of their own memory performance (Kreutzer et al., 1975). Executive function skills are foundational skills required for the development of metamemory in early school-age children (Lockl & Schneider, 2007; Lecce et al., 2015). Previous studies have suggested children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have weaker study and organizational strategies, suggesting weaker metamemory skills (O'Neill & Douglas, 1991; Voelker et al., 1989). The current study aimed to examine the metamemory knowledge of typically developing (TD) children and children with ADHD on a novel declarative metamemory questionnaire. We hypothesized that the ADHD group would have worse metamemory performance than the TD group and that executive functioning skills would be significantly associated with metamemory for all groups.
Participants and Methods:The current study recruited a total of 93 English-speaking children between the ages of 6 to 12 years old, including 70 typically developing (TD) children (M age=9.1+1.92; females 49%), and 23 children with diagnoses of ADHD (M age=9.56+1.27; females 57%). Fifty-seven percent of the ADHD group reported daily use of stimulant medication, but no participants took medication on the day of testing. The participant groups did not significantly differ regarding age or sex. Participants completed the Measure of Metamemory (MoM-10) which included 10 multiple choice questions (i.e., Accuracy) and asked participants to explain their multiple-choice answer (i.e., Explanation). This provided three scores: Accuracy (max 10 points), Explanation (max 20 points), and Total (max 30 points). Additionally, participants' parents completed the 12-item Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, 2nd Edition (BRIEF-2) Screening form, evaluating the child's executive functioning, which provided a percentile based on age and sex.
Results:Within the ADHD group, BRIEF-2 percentiles and MoM-10 scores did not differ between those who were medicated and those who were not. As previous literature has shown, the TD and ADHD groups significantly differed on the BRIEF-2 screening score percentiles (t(91)=-5.78, p<0.001; TD M=52.89+26.1; ADHD M=85.26+13.82). The TD and ADHD groups did not significantly differ on either the MoM-10 Accuracy (p=0.13; TD M=7.22+1.84; ADHD M=7.87+1.32), the Explanation (p=0.08; TD M=9.34+3.80; ADHD M=10.57+2.92), or Total (p=0.13). There was a trend towards a significant correlation between the Explanation scores and BRIEF-2 for TD participants (r=-0.23, p=0.06), but there was no significant correlation between Explanation, Accuracy, or Total scores and the BRIEF-2 for the ADHD group.
Conclusions:Our results tentatively suggest a possible association between metamemory and parent reported executive functioning for TD children, supporting the expected association between the development of executive functioning and the development of metamemory. However, there was no association between metamemory and executive functioning for children with ADHD, likely due to the restricted range of executive functioning scores for this group (i.e., M=85.25+13.82; Range 55-99). Additionally, metamemory did not significantly differ between diagnostic groups. Children with ADHD may have comparable metamemory knowledge to TD children as a result of executive functioning instruction and support they have received. Rather, there may be group differences in the application of metamemory judgement and strategies.
COVID-19: can we treat the mother without harming her baby?
- Part of
- Michael D. Wiese, Mary J. Berry, Pravin Hissaria, Jack R.T. Darby, Janna L. Morrison
-
- Journal:
- Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease / Volume 13 / Issue 1 / February 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 25 January 2021, pp. 9-19
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Open access
- HTML
- Export citation
-
Medical care is predicated on ‘do no harm’, yet the urgency to find drugs and vaccines to treat or prevent COVID-19 has led to an extraordinary effort to develop and test new therapies. Whilst this is an essential cornerstone of a united global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the absolute requirements for meticulous efficacy and safety data remain. This is especially pertinent to the needs of pregnant women; a group traditionally poorly represented in drug trials, yet a group at heightened risk of unintended adverse materno-fetal consequences due to the unique physiology of pregnancy and the life course implications of fetal or neonatal drug exposure. However, due to the complexities of drug trial participation when pregnant (be they vaccines or therapeutics for acute disease), many clinical drug trials will exclude them. Clinicians must determine the best course of drug treatment with a dearth of evidence from either clinical or preclinical studies, where at least in the short term they may be more focused on the outcome of the mother than of her offspring.