Sociodemographic and Individual Predictors of Performance in an Attentional Task with Alert, Orienting and Control Demands in Preschoolers

This study explores the predictive value of socioeconomic status, maternal mental health and child temperament on the performance in the attentional network test (ANT), which assesses attentional processes of alert, orienting and control, administered to 203 4-to-5 years-old children (M = 4.78; SD = .59) from Unsatisfied and Satisfied Basic Needs homes (UBN and SBN, respectively). Results from the linear regression analysis indicated that gender, age, effortful control, and marginally parental occupation, predicted increments in reaction times of trials corresponding only to the control network. Predictors were not verified when sociodemographic variables (parental education and occupation, dwelling and overcrowding) were replaced in the model by the predictor socioeconomic group (UBN, SBN). These results suggest a differential modulation of individual and environmental factors on different attentional processing networks.